Federalist Number 10 written by James Madison famously warned about THE VIOLENCE OF FACTION. Madison defined “faction” as being a number of citizens either in a minority or a majority that were united in a common interest adverse to the rights of others or to the wellbeing of the “common good”. This violence doesn’t need to be physical. It poses a danger to the integrity of governance structures that leads to an undermining of the confidence in the governance structures themselves—a government, a business or even a family.
We have all experienced and been part of factions since we were young kids on the school playground. We naturally gravitate to people who share our interests. Some groups stay to themselves; other groups try to exert power and influence over other groups. There will always be bullies in all kinds of groups. Sometimes factions are formed to stop the bully and other times the bully organizes the faction so that he can continue to bully. The playground is where we all had our first lessons in politics.
As adults we must confront bullies and “factions of violence” de novo and prn”. Allowing them to grow and fester gives power to not only the bully, but to groups of people who are themselves afraid to confront the bully—this begins to give the bully a power in numbers. Violent factions rise on optimism, and thrive on false hope, only to be destroyed when the promise of salvation given by the bully to the mob fails to materialize. We see this at all levels of government. Political leverage used by a bully politician, should never be allowed to flow over into the “process of governance, but like our Founding Fathers recognized, these processes are ripe for exploitation by agents acting on behalf of special interests. Agents who aren’t elected and who enjoy access to government agencies that individual citizens (voters and constituents) don’t enjoy, always have an advantage. Politicians and government workers who are supposed to be representing the interests of WE THE PEOPLE, and who place themselves proximate to the “opportunity for sin” are the most corrupt of all because it is by their actions that everyday citizens lose faith in government.
Factional conflict, a disregard for the rights of others—especially contract and property right, leads to injustice and a further disregard for minority or majority rights. Unabetted factional conflict then leads to decisions that are made narrowly without any underlying moral or legal predicates. Emotionalism takes the place of reason, and selfish interest supersedes self-interest.
Both Madison and Hamilton understood the “corruptive nature of man”, and that siderails of government need to be in place to guard against selfish factions. Madison’s famous quote sums it up best:
“If Men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and the next place, oblige it to control itself.”
Madison asserted and I must paraphrase that the anecdote for factional violence is a large Union with diverse life experiences and a common moral ethic. Only a common virtue can defeat organized faction. The common moral ethic and lives informed by Classical and Christian virtues are requirements that allow factions to exist and to be controlled at the same time.
In order for societies and organizations—no matter how small or large, be they in business or government, to exist and thrive, those common moral principles must be shared by anyone wishing to participate in the governance of those organizations. Familial, parochial, and national wellbeing and harmony require an understanding of our shared history which informs a shared virtue.
I find it more interesting every day that people who have immigrated to our country legally, who have proceeded on a path toward citizenship, understand the issues and frictions between “faction” and common values better than many of our citizens whose linage runs back many generations in our country. Maybe they understand that in the countries where they left, factions were suppressed by governments that did not allow factions or private conscience to exist. When governments lack virtue, they can’t govern out of respect for those they govern, but they can only coerce and suppress those they govern.
Factions—minority or majority factions, will always be in tension. Faction is rooted in human nature. Differences in opinion, passion, and especially unequal distribution of property cannot be eliminated without destroying liberty itself.
Virtuous systems of governance are designed to secure both liberty and faction but will never be able to work unless the rights of others are respected and just as importantly, WE THE PEOPLE must share a common virtue.
Try this for beginning a dialogue between factions:
“Do unto others….”
