 |
| An advertisement for The Federalist newspaper. |
1. Why are factions so difficult to eliminate?
They're strong forces built of people united with by a common impulse of passion. They can theoretically be eliminated by removing its causes (by destroying the liberty it needs to exist, or by giving every citizen the same passions, opinions, or interests); however, these are impossible to achieve, as liberty is essential to political life, and it's in the nature of humans to develop their own independent thoughts on things.
2. If factions cannot be removed then how can they be controlled?
The effects of factions must be controlled. This can be achieved by outvoting them, if they are a minority. It is harder to control them if they are a majority, so the prevention of the same passion in a majority of people is preferable. If they do constitute a majority of the population, the people in it "must be rendered, by their number and local situation, unable to concert and carry into effect their various schemes of oppression." Basically, they need to be prevented from having a say.
No comments:
Post a Comment