John's Muse
Federalist 10
The framers of the Constitution did not foresee a two-party system. They envisioned a multi-party system of minor parties. These many parties would prevent a particular faction from gaining a majority to act against the public good. Madison saw factionalism as a disease fatal to republics. In Federalist No. 10, he argues a multiplicity of factions arising in an extended republic would prevent the rise of a faction large and powerful enough to endanger the republic – or the Union. But our big-tent two-party system has always been an effective antidote to the harmful effects of faction. Big-tent parties are relatively non-ideological. The ever-present need for such large parties to reach a compromise means that nobody gets to achieve everything they want. For most of American history, that kind of non-ideological pragmatism and the tendency toward compromise was the two-party system’s primary virtue. In a recent San Antonio Express-News, Paul Krugman observed that “The Republican Party is the vehicle of a cohesive, monolithic movement.” United around der Führer (Trump), the Republican Party has become a “faction” large enough to subvert the majority’s will. I fear for the survival of our republic.
Check out my book, THRILL CHASE, available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WS62CLN
Federalist 10
The framers of the Constitution did not foresee a two-party system. They envisioned a multi-party system of minor parties. These many parties would prevent a particular faction from gaining a majority to act against the public good. Madison saw factionalism as a disease fatal to republics. In Federalist No. 10, he argues a multiplicity of factions arising in an extended republic would prevent the rise of a faction large and powerful enough to endanger the republic – or the Union. But our big-tent two-party system has always been an effective antidote to the harmful effects of faction. Big-tent parties are relatively non-ideological. The ever-present need for such large parties to reach a compromise means that nobody gets to achieve everything they want. For most of American history, that kind of non-ideological pragmatism and the tendency toward compromise was the two-party system’s primary virtue. In a recent San Antonio Express-News, Paul Krugman observed that “The Republican Party is the vehicle of a cohesive, monolithic movement.” United around der Führer (Trump), the Republican Party has become a “faction” large enough to subvert the majority’s will. I fear for the survival of our republic.
Check out my book, THRILL CHASE, available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WS62CLN