Question

what does this mean. "In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself."---James Madison (1788)

Answer 1

In a sense its saying a government must be able to rule over the people who put it into power by being powerful. However if it does not do the second put measures into place to control itself it will become too powerful and then subjugate those it is over causing them more harm then good. so it is important that it neither because so weak that it can be overthrown but not too powerful that the citizens have no choice but to overthrow it or die under its foot