No one is born with a political opinion. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines opinion as “a belief, judgment, or way of thinking about a particular thing; advice from someone with special knowledge, or advice from an expert.” Opinions are important to the individual who develops them but may be useless rhetoric to others. José Martí once said, “The first duty of a man is to think for himself.” Some people claim to be apolitical when it comes to political opinions, but politics and their diverse views affect them whether they like to admit it or not. Multiple factors provide a role in the development of political opinions, such as family, education, economics, political events, and the media. Political beliefs are subject to change throughout one’s life; a person may not hold on to what they once believed as a child, or even yesterday. The nature of how opinions are formulated is influenced by several factors, and political opinions are no different. “Political learning is generally casual and uncritical unless an important event makes a conscious evaluation necessary.”
The initial influence in development of opinions is derived within the family. Parents are the primary inspiration for children. They have expectations for their kids to grow and mature, be able to take care of the
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Opinions can be educated or uneducated. Individuals, regardless of their educational level, are self driven. They want the best for themselves and their family. The poor without the real-estate or ownership of land are more concerned for good health, themselves, and their families. Wealthier, property owners are more concerned with conserving their property and with the privacy that it gives. James Madison wrote in the tenth Federalist Papers that the “nature of man” causes factions and that the “But the most common and durable source of factions had be the various and unequal distribution of property.” People have a tendency to vote with their
There are thousands of years of history that have taken place. History is not like art(less subjective), but there is still plenty of room for speculation, criticism, and debate among historians, professors, as well as average citizens. However, not all these moments are documented, or done successfully specifically. Some of these moments end up becoming movies, books, or even historical fiction novels, but what about those fundamental moments that aren’t readily documented? In the book The Birth of Modern Politics Lynn Hudson Parsons claims that the 1828 election was momentous in the history of both political history, as well as our nation. Parsons not only discusses the behind the scenes of the first public election of 1828, but the pivotal events in Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams’ lives leading up to the election as well. Parsons succeeds in proving her thesis that the 1828 election was crucial to American politics as we know it today, as well as provoking evidence from various sources with her own logic and opinions as well.
In Federalist 10 James Madison argued that while factions are inevitable, they might have interests adverse to the rights of other citizens. Madison’s solution was the implementation of a Democratic form of government. He felt that majority rule would not eliminate factions, but it would not allow them to be as powerful as they were. With majority rule this would force all parties affiliate and all social classes from the rich white to the poor minorities to work together and for everyone’s opinion and views to be heard.
Given the nature of man, factions are inevitable. As long as men hold different opinions, have different amounts of wealth, and own different amount of property, they will continue to fraternize with people who are most similar to them. Both serious and trivial reasons account for the formation of factions but the most important source of faction is the unequal distribution of property. Men of greater ability and talent tend to possess more property than those of lesser ability, and since the first object of government is to protect and encourage ability, it follows that the rights of property owners must be protected. Property is divided unequally, and, in addition, there are many different kinds of property; men have different interests depending upon the kind of property they own. For example, the interests of landowners differ from those who own businesses. Government must not only protect the conflicting interests of property owners, it must, at the same time, successfully regulate the conflicts that result from those who own, and those who do not own, property.
In Federalist Paper Number 10, Madison sees Factions as being inevitable. Humans hold differing opinions and are all living under different circumstances, and are likely to group together with those most like themselves. Some groups of people will attempt to work together to benefit themselves even if it goes against public interests and even if it infringes upon the rights of others. In the Federalist Paper Number 10, Madison feared that Factions could be detrimental to the common good and in order to minimize the effects and control the effects of Factions, the best form of government would be a large republic. According to Madison, to minimize the negative consequences of Factions, they must either be controlled or the causes of Factions must be removed. Since he describes the causes of Factions being the different interests and living conditions between individuals, it can be argued that this solution is not very feasible. It would be impossible to make sure every single person makes the same amount of money, has the same goals, and even goes through similar life experiences. The greatest source of Factions, the deepest and biggest cause of Factions, according to Madison, is the unequal distribution of property. The acquisition of property or lack of property creates class divisions the foster differing interests. Since it is not possible to
. Factions can be present in many different settings in society. They can be a passion for different opinions on religions, government, or war. Madison claims that "the most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property. Those who hold and those who are without property have ever been formed distinct interests in society." The modern government includes factions as necessary operations, and the regulation of these interest groups form the foremost assignment of legislation.
In Federalist 10, Madison focuses primarily on the concerns of Anti-federalists and Federalists alike regarding factions, which he defines as “a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest,
That leaves the second option, giving every individual the same opinion, which is unrealistic. The main obstacle is that as long as people have free will and are able to think freely, they will form different opinions. The difference in opinions that occurs leads to factions. People, no matter how, will always look out for their own interests. The example given by Madison was in reference to the relationship between land owners and non-land owners.
Madison believed that having diverse representatives would lead to a federal government that would be better than any state government that was homogeneous. He went a step further by saying that representatives should be unlike the populous, meaning that the elected should be wiser, better, and not like the voters. Anti-Federalists predicted the populist Americans wouldn’t put up with these bold Federalist ideas. The Anti-Federalists would make their mark on the Constitution, but ultimately the Constitution would be closer to the Federalists’ bold
To explain the link between unequal distribution of property and factions, Madison first clarifies the origin of unequal distribution of property. He states people are born with different talents, attitudes, and physical/mental powers. These inherent qualities he called faculties are rewarded by society. According to Madison, “From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property, the possession degrees and kinds of property immediately results. (Page 64)” Society prizes some faculties and disregards other, based on people’s needs and culture norms. This fact makes people who were born with compelling aptness will be rewarded more property than others. When a society is liberal, the goal of government is to protect the individual’s rights and property. Since individuals will always have different faculties, the diversity in the faculties of men will always lead to unequal distribution of property.
Democracy is rule by the people; the people elect governing officials based off of their personal values and beliefs. Different political parties rule the political scene and are serving to represent the people’s opinions in the best ways possible. Previously, I had a belief that my political view was essentially the only one possible and therefore it was the best. These views changed quickly once I learned the different political parties, their views, how they represent the people’s views, and how public opinion shapes politics. The government is formed around differentiating opinions on which policies should be in place and which social aspects need to be considered first. Not only is the government guided by opinion, but the people’s lives are guided by opinion as well. Each individual holds a different view, and each view can have an influence on society. Fortunately, after roughly eight weeks of studying American Government, I now have a better sense of complexity and the value of
Throughout Federalist 10, James Madison argues that we must allow people to separate into groups according to their needs and beliefs regarding the political system of our country. These factions will protect interests and create an elevated government comprised of the most knowledgeable and educated men to protect the citizenry. His arguments reflect his status as a wealthy and educated landowner that must protect himself in the face of the common people. I will argue that Madison’s argument is flawed, which he alludes to in his writing, because he neglects to acknowledge that people are self-interested and therefore, morally corrupt. This self-interest will be the downfall of Madison’s government as private interests take root and the will of the people is ignored in all places but elections.
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.
A belief shared by most people, the voice of the people. The opinion of the public is the popular view. Opinions bring public beliefs to the attention of decision/policy makers. Public opinion is that opinion which government must heed to. Public opinion is reflected by public policy through five models according to Norman Luttbeg.
(Ibid9-11). Political socialisation begins early on in life and is an ongoing process affecting individuals throughout. It is how people eventually identify personal beliefs and expectations. These political views can include our level of patriotism, faith in democratic System, standards by which we hold governing bodies, and opinion regarding public policies from the classroom, the office, to the dinner table. Much of our life affects our political opinions.
I believe that parents play a vital role in influencing children during the development process as they create a lasting impact on the child’s overall development as well as on the socialization development. As children grow, they encompass a number of factors influencing their attitudes along with the behavior of that child. These attitudes and characteristics are learned initially from their parents. I also believe that when we are in middle school is when we want to be different to fit in with our peers. We see our peers and believe that the things they are doing are cool; we also want them to like us so we start to do the same things as them, which shows then that friends start to influence us more than adults.