Many of us puts a different meaning in the concept of democracy. For some, it is a set of political institutions, for others it means a particular political regime. In fact, the nature of society, which claims to be democratic, is determined by how clear the idea of democracy is and the nature of institutions that are designed to ensure the implementation of this idea to life. The very essence of democratic government is the absolute will of the majority – in such a way it was defined in 19th century by Alexis de Tocqueville. However, according to one of the founders of the American republic Alexander Hamilton stated that voice of the people was usually believed to be the voice of God, but he said that the statement is actually not true. People are turbulent and changing, they seldom judge and decide correctly. In fact, those made in 1787, the American constitution, sought to avoid the government to be entirely dependent on the will of a simple majority of voters. James Madison thus stated that such a democracy has always been a model of anxiety and strife, have always been incompatible with the guarantee of personal safety and property rights in general and died a violent death.
James Madison considered the various possible problems in the management process related to the influence of groups which he called "factions". D. Madison gave great importance to the issue of coordination of selfish interests of fractions with a public good for the American people. He consistently defended the principle of majority rule, but only in his own content. For D. Madison majority, as well as minority is only part of the people, its faction. Justice must also be provided to people as a whole, not just the majority faction, which, inevitably concentrating political power in the Republic, always has the ability to ignore the rights and interests of minority factions, or even deprive them of property and freedom.
Factionalism, according to D. Madison, is an absolute evil, because there are a coalition of citizens united by common interest, and while seeking to accomplish this interest they violate rights of other citizens of society as a whole. Especially dangerous factionalism is when it leads to disunity, the formation of political parties - major political groups that oppose each other and openly fight for power. Just then the threat of tyranny, the subordination of one part of society by another appears. However, the formation of factions, is considered by D. Madison as a natural phenomenon in political life. Activity, and hence communities of interest are inherent in human nature itself, with the deepest ground of factions development is uneven distribution of property, which is always generated and will generate differences in opinions, to group people into classes, moving different aspirations and interests. There will always be rich and poor, creditors and debtors, the land interest, cash interest, commercial interest, the industrial interest. These classes can again be divided according to the trade and industrial interest. Therefore, regulation of these diverse and often overlapping interest is the main task of modern legislation and involves the presence of the spirit of partisanship and factionalism in the required and daily activities of government.
Works Cited
Hamilton, Alexander; Madison, James; and Jay, John. The Federalist. Edited by Jacob E. Cooke. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1961.
