The term “faction” in\u00a0the\u00a0#10\u00a0Federalist\u00a0comes\u00a0to\u00a0mind with\u00a0the concept of social and economic\u00a0stratification\u00a0that we have discussed. A faction,\u00a0according\u00a0to\u00a0Madison,\u00a0consists\u00a0of\u00a0a group of\u00a0citizens\u00a0unified\u00a0by a common interest that is\u00a0generally\u00a0hostile\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0people\u00a0or the\u00a0public\u00a0interest. This\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0direct\u00a0correlation\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0colonial\u00a0America’s\u00a0class\u00a0distinctions,\u00a0with\u00a0the wealthy elite and\u00a0disfranchised\u00a0poor\u00a0having\u00a0competing\u00a0interests. The Founding Fathers,\u00a0and\u00a0Madison\u00a0in particular, feared that if\u00a0political authority was granted to\u00a0the majority\u2014the\u00a0common man, the working- and\u00a0lower-class\u00a0citizen\u2014then\u00a0they would use it to\u00a0trample\u00a0the\u00a0rights\u00a0of the\u00a0rich\u00a0minority.\u00a0The Constitution was\u00a0therefore\u00a0drafted\u00a0to\u00a0restrain\u00a0factions by limiting direct\u00a0popular\u00a0authority.
The\u00a0root\u00a0cause\u00a0of wealth (private property),\u00a0as\u00a0argued\u00a0by Federalist #10, is\u00a0the natural\u00a0distinction\u00a0among\u00a0people. Madison argues that\u00a0the\u00a0differences, which he\u00a0calls\u00a0“faculties”, are the\u00a0innate\u00a0capacity,\u00a0aptitude, or\u00a0talents\u00a0that determine\u00a0the capacity of\u00a0a person\u00a0to\u00a0achieve\u00a0and\u00a0retain\u00a0property.\u00a0Under\u00a0this\u00a0understanding,\u00a0certain\u00a0people\u00a0have\u00a0faculties that enable them to accumulate wealth,\u00a0and\u00a0others\u00a0do\u00a0not\u00a0have\u00a0faculties\u00a0and\u00a0hence\u00a0are\u00a0poor.\u00a0Such\u00a0an\u00a0explanation\u00a0renders\u00a0economic\u00a0disparity\u00a0an\u00a0innate\u00a0and\u00a0necessary\u00a0byproduct\u00a0of human\u00a0distinctions\u00a0rather than a result of\u00a0institutions\u00a0or\u00a0policy. However,\u00a0such\u00a0an\u00a0understanding\u00a0overlooks external factors such as inherited wealth, systemic barriers, and social\u00a0privilege\u00a0that also\u00a0explain\u00a0economic\u00a0distinctions. While\u00a0others\u00a0could\u00a0agree with Madison’s\u00a0understanding, others\u00a0could\u00a0argue that wealth is not\u00a0entirely\u00a0a result of\u00a0personal\u00a0capacity\u00a0but also\u00a0of\u00a0economic\u00a0and\u00a0social\u00a0conditions\u00a0that\u00a0one\u00a0cannot do anything about.
Madison\u00a0sets\u00a0out\u00a0the\u00a0first\u00a0priority\u00a0(“first object”) of the U.S. government\u00a0as\u00a0the\u00a0protection\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0right\u00a0of property\u00a0holders.\u00a0Such\u00a0a\u00a0priority\u00a0would\u00a0come\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0shock\u00a0given\u00a0that today\u00a0government\u00a0talk\u00a0revolves\u00a0around\u00a0democracy, equality, and\u00a0the\u00a0public\u00a0good\u00a0as\u00a0its\u00a0raison\u00a0d’\u00eatre as opposed to\u00a0protection of private property as its\u00a0first\u00a0priority.\u00a0Yet\u00a0in the historical context,\u00a0it\u00a0aligns with the\u00a0interests\u00a0of the Founding Fathers\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0protection\u00a0of\u00a0the economic interests of the elite\u00a0class.\u00a0No\u00a0wonder,\u00a0therefore,\u00a0that\u00a0the\u00a0Federalist #10\u00a0advocates\u00a0a Republican (representative)\u00a0system\u00a0of government\u00a0as\u00a0opposed to\u00a0a pure democracy. Madison\u00a0was\u00a0worried\u00a0that a direct democracy would\u00a0give\u00a0the majority\u00a0of the people\u00a0(the\u00a0working\u00a0poor)\u00a0the power\u00a0to pass\u00a0a\u00a0bill of attainder\u00a0that\u00a0would\u00a0redistribute wealth or\u00a0harm\u00a0property rights.\u00a0In\u00a0advocating\u00a0a republic, Madison ensured that\u00a0representatives\u00a0elected\u00a0to office\u2014typically\u00a0members\u00a0of\u00a0the elite class\u2014would\u00a0serve\u00a0as a mediating force\u00a0and\u00a0have\u00a0power\u00a0over\u00a0the masses. This\u00a0is\u00a0another\u00a0way\u00a0the Constitution was crafted to maintain the\u00a0power\u00a0of the\u00a0rich\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0detriment\u00a0of the\u00a0poor.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The term “faction” in\u00a0the\u00a0#10\u00a0Federalist\u00a0comes\u00a0to\u00a0mind with\u00a0the concept of social and economic\u00a0stratification\u00a0that we have discussed. A faction,\u00a0according\u00a0to\u00a0Madison,\u00a0consists\u00a0of\u00a0a group of\u00a0citizens\u00a0unified\u00a0by a common interest that is\u00a0generally\u00a0hostile\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0people\u00a0or the\u00a0public\u00a0interest. This\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0direct\u00a0correlation\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0colonial\u00a0America’s\u00a0class\u00a0distinctions,\u00a0with\u00a0the wealthy elite and\u00a0disfranchised\u00a0poor\u00a0having\u00a0competing\u00a0interests. The Founding Fathers,\u00a0and\u00a0Madison\u00a0in particular, feared that if\u00a0political authority was granted to\u00a0the majority\u2014the\u00a0common man, the working- and\u00a0lower-class\u00a0citizen\u2014then\u00a0they would use it to\u00a0trample\u00a0the\u00a0rights\u00a0of the\u00a0rich\u00a0minority.\u00a0The Constitution was\u00a0therefore\u00a0drafted\u00a0to\u00a0restrain\u00a0factions by limiting direct\u00a0popular\u00a0authority. The\u00a0root\u00a0cause\u00a0of wealth…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10222,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discussion-board-6-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11137"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11141,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11137\/revisions\/11141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}