- What concept that we have already discussed does “faction” remind you of?
The word faction reminds me of the concept of laborers. The affluent who wrote the constitution are the capitalists and the faction are the laborers.
- 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….”
The source of wealth according to Madison is a person’s abilities: their labor, skills, and their effort. However, some people have access to more resources than others. This unequal distribution of resources creates an uneven playing field. The people with more resources continue to acquire more resources that help obtain more wealth. Inversely, those with less resources must work harder and longer to keep what they have with very little opportunity to gain any more.
- Do you agree with this explanation of wealth and poverty?
I do agree with this explanation of wealth and poverty in the general sense. I read an article of a young lady who started a very successful company. And the two- or three-page article had one sentence that said, the business was started by a gift of $100k from her father. Well, let’s just glaze over that like it wasn’t the most important factor. She had resources. Therefore, she was able to build on those resources. Those with less resources spend their time trying to acquire the $100k and may never even get the business started. Of course, there are those exceptional people who have risen from the most unfavorable circumstances to achieve greatness. However, those instances are rear.
- 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 US government is “the protection of these faculties”: the government should protect the abilities of those who do have from those who can’t have. This doesn’t surprise me at all. I think this core mission is not different that government’s core mission today. There was a wave of mortgage fraud throughput the county in the early two-thousands. The secondary mortgage market were fraudulently packaging subprime loans as A paper. The individuals on the loan origination level were convicted of crimes. The institutions were awarded a multi-billion-dollar stimulus package. This allowed them to continue conducting business .
- 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 d the author dislike a (pure) democratic form of government? Hint: think about how this question connects with the social classes…
A true democracy would give the power to the masses. A republic gives power to small percentage of the overall population. The small group (group) who make the laws for the democracy are subject to the intentions of the small group (republic).
