Question

Many at the time feared the divisive impact of factions, and some critics suggested these self-interested political groups would be fatal to a republic as large as the one proposed by the constitution. how does madison address the concerns about factions? what unorthodox remedy does he propose?

Answer 1

1. Madison discusses this issue in Federalist No. 10, the tenth of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays intended to argue for the ratification of the Constitution.  

In it, Madison argues that factions are inevitable because of how men interact. People will always have different opinions, and if they also have different levels of income and power, they will always create alliances with those that are more similar to them and attempt to exercise power in this way. Because of its inevitability, the country needed a way to safeguard against this problem.

2. Madison’s solution was to propose a representative democracy, instead of a direct one as suggested initially by the Founding Fathers. This indirectly led to the creation of the Electoral College. Madison also suggested the separation of powers, so that, even if a faction gained control of a portion of the power, they would be prevented from controlling it completely.