What concept that we have already discussed does “faction” remind you of? The concept that factions remind me of is political parties. Since a faction is a group of people that all share a belief or opinion that is different from people who are not part of the group, it reminds me of how both Democrats and Republicans are groups of people who share beliefs that are different from those who aren’t within their party.
According to Federalist #10 (written by James Madison), what is the source of wealth (private property)? What factor explains why some people get to possess wealth by owning private property, and others don’t (thus remaining poor)? This is a key question, because it shows how the authors of the Constitution thought about the difference between different classes of Americans! HINT: focus on the passage that begins: “The diversity in the faculties (WHAT DOES FACULTIES mean or refer to?) of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not les….” According to James Madison, the source of wealth is its inequality. What this means is that the wealthy only own so much private property because they are given the property that exists within the nation and the property that they get is protected by the government from being taken by the working class. The protection of faculties (privileges that the wealthy get from owning property) is what is being protected by the government. It is also what prevents the working class from getting any form of property, since property is what gives people wealth and power, which is what the government doesn’t protect. Essentially, wealthy people are wealthy because they were privileged enough to be born wealthy and therefore will have those privileges protected, while the working class will not privileged enough to be born with wealth and therefore don’t have any privileges to protect.
Do you agree with this explanation of wealth and poverty? I do not agree with this explanation of wealth and poverty that James Madison explained because it is possible for someone to start off without much wealth to end up gaining wealth later in their life through hard work. Wealth shouldn’t be dependent on the family that a person is born into and what connections/properties their family had before they were born.
What is the core mission (“first object”) of the US government? Does this surprise you, does it sound different from what our society today seems to suggest the core mission of the government is? Explain. The core mission of the U.S government is to protect the privileges of men, which specifically refers to the idea that you are allowed to have power if you have property and wealth. This essentially means that they are trying to protect the wealthy from the working class and also prevent the working class from acquiring property (and therefore, gain power). I would say that after what the class has taught me so far, that it doesn’t surprise me too much, since there’s been so much wealth distribution imbalance in America. It does sound different from what our society today suggests the core mission of the government is, since they say that the purpose of the government is to protect the people (meaning everyone) and provide liberty for all.
Given the discussion in questions 1-4, are you surprised that Federalist #10 is not in favor of democracy, and supports a Republican (representative) form of government? Why would the author dislike a (pure) democratic form of government? Hint: think about how this question connects with the social classes. After going through the first 4 questions of this discussion board, I am not surprised that Federalist #10 is not in favor of democracy and supports a Republican form of government. James Madison would dislike a pure democratic form of government because that would cause the working class, those who were born without property would be able to gain privileges and power that they were not born with and therefore do not deserve. A republic would make it so that the course of law and power within the country would be determined by the few that have property and power (like himself) rather than the majority that don’t have either of those things, which is why he views a republic much more favorably than a pure democracy.
