The Federalist – Reconsidered

 

[I’m referring to the 1788 version (not the Web pages) penned as a series of newspaper columns supporting ratification of the proposed U.S. Constitution.]

Every twenty years or so, it seems The Sensible Conservative peruses a copy  and plows through (it’s not an easy read)  as a reminder of our Constitutional guide.

This year’s re-read, I’ll confess, has generated not only reverence for founding principles but criticisms not previously considered.

***James Madison’s most celebrated contribution to the Federalist is No. 10 which argues that the very size and multitudes of the American populace establishes that “factions” (interest groups) would not be able to band together into a majority that can overcome the rights of the minority.

Comment:  Political parties, which didn’t exist during the time of confederation, today illustrate that factions are still a threat to the minority.  Is not the Democratic Party a faction in full control of Congress and the Chief Executive which is already showing a disposition to act without the participation of the minority GOP?

***Alexander Hamilton, an aristocrat by temperament and intellectual orientation, was confident that the common sense of the people in general would cause them to choose their representatives and leaders from “their betters” among them.

Comment:  Wishful thinking founded on an opinion that fellow Americans then took their responsibilities for wise self-government more seriously than later generations.  Are we proud of the quality of our political leaders chosen by today’s electorate?

***Madison, in particular, believed that virtuous leaders were vital to the survival of the limited government wrought by the Constitution.

Comment:  Fortunately, our Constitutional government has been able to survive and prosper despite the absence of virtue in so many politicians.

Even if one separates (perhaps improperly) public from the private version,  exposure to virtuous conduct in the White House shows that virtuous conduct in the White House is not a given.  Consider whether virtuous conduct was a mark of the presidents of the past 70 years.  Yes as to Truman, Eisenhower, Carter, the Bushes and Obama.  No to  LBJ, Nixon, Clinton, Trump and, I fear, Biden.  [JFK is hardest to pigeonhole.  Although he used the President's house as a brothel, there is no evidence that he was corrupt on public matters,]

I didn’t take my reaction to be mere quibbles.  Yet the lack of total prescience can hardly be a fair basis for criticism of what was written 230 years ago.

As for human nature, it remains as it was – The Federalist continues to be relevant as a primer on the subject.