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Within representative democracies freedom of speech, of opinion and religion are factors which legitimate government must have. In this way the public are free to participate within politics and challenge their leaders, and while Madison feared the tyranny of the majority he saw great merit in allowing the public a voice. These freedoms are central to modern representative governments and can be evidenced by having opposing parties rather than single party and allowing non governmental groups to have a say. This differs to old systems in which speaking out against the monarch could result in being beheaded or such as the Soviet Union where the public were punished for disobeying the authority of the government often being dispatched with out of the public eye. …show more content…
The contrasting world of freedoms of speech, opinions and the press met in tragic circumstances when a number staff of the French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo were shot dead for printing comical images of Allah. In a representative democracy the individual has the right to fair trial and punishment and while the attackers felt the retribution was legitimate within their socio-political sphere ,within a representative democracy like France it is
Madison believed the ways to eliminate factions by removing its causes and to control the effects. Even though factions cannot simply be eliminated, Madison believed that the destruction of liberty or to give every individual the same opinion. Direct democracy is not strong enough to protect its personnel, property rights, and have been characterized by conflict. It is surprising, but Madison recommended a strong and large Republic. He believed that there would be more factions, but much weaker than in small, direct democracies where it would be easier to consolidate stronger factions. Madison concluded his argument by saying, “according to the degree of ple...
Constitutional monarchies like the UK have combined the best aspects of democracy, monarchy, and aristocracy in hopes of removing tyranny, anarchy, and oligarchy. In the United States we give power to an elected body of many individuals, however, we retain power as citizens and individuals of this country through our right to vote for these elected officials. The power of a citizen outside of politics is fixed based on their ability/inability to vote. However, certain politicians have done specifically what Madison hoped this Constitution would prevent. They have created “democratic” factions through a populist perspective that has put certain people in a position of power by appealing to the common people. They have divided our society leading in comparison to the way in which other democracies as Madison explains have
The crucial issue of Madison’s time was the right of the people. The people should be involved in their government, and know about how their government can work with them.
The dangers of faction can somewhat outweigh the good. The framers of the American Constitution feared the power that could possibly come about by organized interest groups. Madison wrote "The public good is disregarded in the conflict of rival factions citizens who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community." However, the framers believed that interest groups thrived because of freedom, the same privilege that Americans utilize to express their views. Madison saw direct democracy as a danger to individual rights and advocated a representative democracy to protect individual liberty, and the general public from the effects of such inequality in society. Madison says "A pure democracy can admit no cure for the mischief's of faction. A common passion or interest will be felt by a majority Hence it is, that democracies have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths."
Factions, or parties, are described in The Federalist No. 10 as groups of citizens “united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest.” According to Madison, these human passions divide the public into competing parties that are “much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to co-operate for their common good.” These parties often negatively impact the rights of other citizens as they pursue their own specialized goals, but it is “the nature of man” to create them. Thus, in order to protect the rights and voices of the people, a successful government must be committed to the regulation of these various factions. A pure (direct) democracy, argues Madison, cannot effectively do this because it offers every citizen a vote in serious public matters, and economic stratification alone prevents th...
Continuing the metaphor of faction as a disease, Madison labels “[a] republic” as “the cure for which we are seeking”. Madison notes that a republican government differs from pure democracy in that the delegation of the government is smaller and can thus achieve efficient action. Another contrast lies also in the extent to which a republic has influence over a “greater sphere of country”. The passing of public views “through the medium of a chosen body of citizens” allows for refinement of ideas due to the influence of elected officials’ wisdom and is “more consonant to the public good than if pronounced by the people themselves”. To protect against the caprices of wicked men, the number of representatives of the people will be a quantity that stymies the influence of the few but is able to, as Madison states, “guard against the confusion of a multitude”. Madison then references his belief in the common sense and good will of men in that “the suffrages of the people” is likely to result in the election of men most deserving and fit for their roles as representatives and lawmakers. Madison presents an avowal that counters one of the Anti-Federalists’ major grievances: “[t]he federal Constitution forms a happy combination” with “the great and aggregate interests being referred to the national, the local and particular to the State legislatures”; Anti-Federalists feared that a stronger
In conclusion, Madison thinks the human nature is ambitious, and the fixed outcome of human ambitions is people create factions to promote their own interests. In the case of preventing corrupt or mischief by factions, he believes majority and pure democracy is not a solution. The method he advocated is a large republic with checking system. He converts human ambition to provide internal checks and balances in government. His point of view stimulated the approval of the proposal of the United States Constitution.
...he other hand, Madison discusses the topic of liberty in that it is what fuels factions. He says that removing liberty is one of the only ways to destroy a faction. He proceeds to state that this is not probable, and that factions can not be destroyed, but we must control their consequences in order to have a stable government. Madison believes that the Constitution preserves man's liberty by fairly representing them in a central government.
Madison is adamant about the dangers of a pure democracy, and the negatives a democracy poses when faced by the dangers of factions. A pure democracy could not function effectively at controlling the effects of factions, as a common sentiment will be felt by the majority of the whole in more cases that not. This would lead to an oppressed and largely ignored minority. Pro...
If a separation of powers was ever needed in our country, it was at a time when the peoples’ greatest fear was another all-powerful Parliament or tyrannical king. The Separation of Powers were needed most when the country was new and the Articles of Confederation were failing. Just after the Revolutionary War, but before Madison had taken presidency, the people feared another monarchy. To them, it was highly possible that if Washington — their very first president, and the commander who had lead them through their rebellion — was so inclined, it would not be so far-fetched that he would be able abuse his power and keep a tight hold on the country. The citizens feared an almighty Congress, and wondered how fair trials could really be under Madison’s
Direct Democracy vs Representative Democracy The term Democracy is derived from two Greek words, demos, meaning people, and kratos, meaning rule. These two words form the word democracy which means rule by the people. Aristotle, and other ancient Greek political philosophers, used the phrase, `the governors are to be the governed', or as we have come to know it, `rule and be ruled in turn'. The two major types of democracy are Representative Democracy and Direct
In Federalist No. 10, James Madison stresses that “measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.” Madison philosophized that a large republic, composed of numerous factions capable of competing with each other and the majority must exist in order to avoid tyranny of majority rule.# When Federalist No. 10 was published, the concept of pluralism was not widely used. However, the political theory that is the foundation for United States government was the influential force behind pluralism and its doctrines.
Freedom of speech cannot be considered an absolute freedom, and even society and the legal system recognize the boundaries or general situations where the speech should not be protected. Along with rights comes civil responsib...
Initially, when we read James Madison we learn the nature of factions. Factions play an important role in human nature because they are vessels of opinions. The opinion of one individual is not enough to cause change. Factions solve this by uniting people with similar opinions and allowing them to urge for change. Madison realized the unrelenting force of a faction left to grow without restraint. They were dangerous because they were often violent and disruptive often being called the “weakness of popular government”. At worst, they lead to civil war and at the least the inhibited the execution of public policy. While he acknowledge that the easiest way to remove a faction was to destroy their liberties, he knew that this would mean to declare a war on human nature. He also understood that removing their liberty would mean removing the liberty of others, which he did not want. Instead, he suggested controlling the effects of majority faction...
Key Elements of Representative Government For democratic decision-making to function effectively, there are specific elements that are outlined in the key elements of representative government. These include: * The rule of law * Universal franchise and regular elections * One vote one value and secret ballot * Payment of members of parliament * Parliamentary privilege * Rights to protest, association and political expression * Open parliamentary debates * Separation of powers The rule of law states that citizens must have equal standing before the law, to stand for election and to vote. There must also be strict rules regulating the electoral process and all government action must be taken in accordance with the law. Universal franchise and regular elections means that every eligible adult must have the right to vote regardless of their sex, race, cultural background and religious or personal beliefs. It is also important that the representatives are held accountable to the voters at regular elections.