Week 11- Factions

In Madison’s writing The Federalist Number 10 he explains that there are two ways to limit factions and that is to either remove them or to create a society that has the same opinions and beliefs. Madison then goes on to explain in his writing that ordinary peoples opinions are always persuaded by their emotions and their self interest, not necessarily what is best for the country.

Madison then goes on to explain that the only problem comes from majority factions wanting to enact what their popular beliefs to the people. If this happens this will not allow the country to be a free country. He then continues to explain that there are two ways to check for majority factions, either prevent the “existence of the same passion or interest in a majority at the same time” or leave a majority faction unable to act.

He then continues to explain that he is in favor of a large republic instead of a small republic because he feels that if there is a larger republic, there are a greater number of voters and candidates and with that the probability to elect experienced representatives is a lot higher. With a larger republic the voters will also have wider options. He explains that with smaller republics it would be easier for candidates to fool the voters. Also, he states that in a smaller republic there is a lower variety of interests and parties and more frequently a majority will be established. The number of the contributor will be smaller and the fact that the area is smaller and it would be easier for the republic to agree and work together for the success to their ideas.

How I understand everything that I have read is the fact that Madison wanted to have fewer parties and for them to be larger. It is apparent that today this has held through out time considering that there are only two major parties in the United States, and that every time another party tries to intervene it is unsuccessful. I believe that Madison wanted larger parties so that the people of the United States could be more independent and if there are a lot of different smaller groups I feel that it is easier to listen to people rather than listening to your own self.

Honestly, I do not believe there is a way to get rid of factions all together. The United States is built around two larger factions and one smaller and these are the Republican, Democratic, and Independent parties. If these parties did not exist there would be no reason to have the people of the United States vote. If we do not vote for what we believe in then there would be no order in the United States and people would not have anything to fight for. I feel the same way that Madison did when he wrote the Federalist , it is good that there are not a lot of smaller parties in the United States because if there were too many then it would be more difficult for the people of the United States to choose which party is best for them because they would feel that they could not follow their own interests.