"The Federalist #51"

“The Federalist #51”

Whilst all authority in it will be delivered from and dependent on society, the society itself will be broken into so many parts, interests, and classes of citizens, that the rights of the individuals, or of the minority, will be in little danger from interested combinations of the majority. In a free government the security for civil rights must be the same as for religious rights. It consists in the one case in the multiplicity of interests, and in the other in the multiplicity of sects. The degree of security in both cases will depend on the number of interests and sects; and this may be presumed to depend on the extent of the country and number of people comprehended under the same government (p. 105).

Madison was relating about the threats of factions in society. He shares how diversity in views and standards rather than a single approach can reduce the influence of factions. In a government free of factions, society should come to terms and reason on one accord. In so doing, the people will be more inclined to forgo threats to others.

My views on this quote from Federalist #51 highlight the importance of different classes of society and the significance it supposed to hold in the constitution. Individual and the minority rights would have a sense of protection from the divisions of the popular. It’s in the number of voices from the people which play a major role in the degree of security, as stated.