The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny. – James Madison, Federalist 47 In this Federalist Paper, Madison takes on objections that the new Constitution fails to adequately distinguish the
Month: April 2021
“A Government Administered by Men Over Men”
James Madison writes of both the necessity of government that arises from human nature and of the necessity to control government that arises from human nature: It may be a reflection on human nature that such devices [separation and balancing of powers] should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself
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If You Offend the People, You Lose Your Authority
The office of tribune in the ancient Roman Republic had been instituted to function as an inviolable guardian of the people. The person of the tribune was considered sacrosanct; he could not be removed from office or hindered in any way, he could veto any act of the Senate with binding force, and if any
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Having the Name Without the Reality
We often hear in this Modern age of realpolitik that politics and morality are separate domains, neither having much of anything to to with the other. On the contrary, here is the great 4th century Christian bishop St. Augustine citing Marcus Tullius Cicero on the destruction of the Roman Republic due to the decline of traditional