Question

In lines 94-96, Madison says that “No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity.“ How does this premise relate to Madison’s main claim about the virtues of representative democracy? What claims in the second half of this publication are based on the premises in this paragraph?

Answer 1

• In Federalist No. 10, Madison argues that the causes of faction (division among citizens) cannot be eliminated. However, its effects can be controlled. This is only possible in a representative democracy, and not in a pure democracy. In a representative government, people cannot vote directly on an issue. Therefore, their own self-interest is somewhat controlled. This is an important virtue of representative democracy.

• Later on, Madison discusses other ways in which the harmful effects of self-interests and factions can be controlled. For example, he argues that having a large population means more diversity of ideas. Factions would therefore be less common, and weaker. Also, having representatives means that people's suggestions would be analyzed and filtered, and self-interested proposals would have less of a chance to succeed.