LAD #5: Federalist #10

 The Federalist Papers

1. Why are factions so difficult to eliminate?

Factions at their core are really just groups of like-minded people, all joined together in support of an idea or a collection of ideas. While it could be a majority, a faction was just as often a vocal minority in the community or population it represented, and by joining together these groups of people were able to benefit the needs of their group and themselves, often ignoring the will of the majority. James Madison claimed there were two ways to eliminate the causes of factions and prevent them from forming, both equally implausible. The first was to prevent people from forming these groups, which was unconstitutional and restricting of the freedoms that America was built on. The second was to assimilate these groups into one, which was also impossible because of the conflicting nature of people's thoughts and opinions.

2. If factions cannot be removed then how can they be controlled?

Madison came to the conclusion that if the causes of factions could not be stopped or controlled in any way, and that they were intrinsic to the nature of mankind, then the best solution to the problem caused by factions would be to simply let them form and attempt to control their effects after the fact. The effects referred to specifically were the restriction and manipulation of the will of the majority by these individual factions. Madison believed that the best solution was a representative or republican form of government was best suited to prevent this type of manipulation, as the representatives would vote with the needs of their states in mind, rather then based on their own opinions.