Faction reminds us of the idea of different social classes with opposing interests, like the wealthy landowners and merchants versus poor farmers and laborers.

According to Federalist #10, the source of wealth (private property) comes from the “diversity in the faculties of men.” Faculties refer to people’s abilities, intelligence, and skills. Madison argues that some people have better abilities to acquire wealth, while others do not, which leads to inequality.

Whether or not I agree depends on whether I believe wealth is only based on personal abilities or if other factors, like social conditions and opportunities, play a role.

The core mission (“first object”) of the U.S. government is to protect private property and the ability of people to acquire wealth. This might be surprising because today, many people believe the government’s role is to serve and protect all citizens equally, not just protect the wealthy.

It is not surprising that Federalist #10 is against direct democracy and supports a Republican form of government. The wealthy feared that in a pure democracy, the majority (poor people) would vote to take away their wealth. By having a republic, power stays in the hands of elected representatives, who were mostly from the upper class.