Men Were Not Angels- Medisonian View of Government

Gokhan Koca

International Journal of Asian Social Science, 2016, vol. 6, issue 10, 552-557

Abstract: Unfortunately, men are not angels and administration is an important tool to provide internal and external controls. Madison (1787b) states that assuming any form of government can secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the human being is an imaginary idea. The virtue, in fact, should be used to select the rulers. The selection of the rulers who will be exact protectors of the public prosperity is paramount for the stability of government. Madison claims that people, by nature, have different religions, ambitions, and perceptions about government. Considering all these, they follow different leaders. Madison did not believe that a real democracy can propose a treatment for the badness of factions. In society, only very few citizens can assemble and administer the government in person. Pure democracy, therefore, does not work with the factions in the society. Madison also asserted the need for additional precautions in the Constitution to restrict government and protect freedom. The most important one was the dividing and balancing of powers. Ultimately, political freedom needs economic freedom, and vice versa. To protect both, there should be limited government. Actual constitutional government is a potential alternative to the vision of a perfect design society. The idea is to operate the principle of self-organization.

Keywords: Madison; Democracy; Government; Constitutional; Power; Liberty. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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