The Federalist wrestles with the task of creating a government for a flawed and selfish creature: Man. It eschews revolutionary optimism and embraces a dark realism.
Excellent essay. One thing that is striking is that the Federalists foresaw every one of our 20th/21st century 'democratic' Utopian follies with just one exception...sexual factionalism.
Thank you very much for another first class piece of writing.
If you will allow a very small and pedantic observation…I believe it was the wish of the American colonists to free themselves from the British yoke, rather than the British yolk.
"Self-government is hard. It requires constant diligence. One cannot afford delusions about the nobility of the people or the pliability of human nature."
Democracy and its lipstick-wearing cousin, democratic representation, are always failures. It is merely idiots electing idiots. Demand a meritocracy.
That the Founders had a vivid Calvinistic sense of human evil and damnation and believed with Hobbes that men are selfish and contentious was classic lose-lose assumption that has poisoned American politics ever since.
Confucius made the opposite assumption and Chinese civilization, now in its third millennium, is thriving as never before.
Machiavelli have his own ideas and I think he is much more realistic than James Madison who designed the federal government (NOT a republic as there are already 13 republics) to be largely guided by the aristocracy in the mode of British semi-republic. But Machiavelli was much more skeptical of the aristocracy, and his theory of two humors between the Great and the Plebs provide a much-needed correction. So many people whines about democracy and yet, nobody bat an eye when an elitist judge overturned the 37 state referendums on the rectal marriage or a judge overturned CA’s popular referendum outlawing benefits to the illegals. Oh, no. The People are too stupid and selfish, the only thing missing was “racist” or “sexist” but otherwise, what difference really exist between this gang and the DC gang?
Excellent essay. One thing that is striking is that the Federalists foresaw every one of our 20th/21st century 'democratic' Utopian follies with just one exception...sexual factionalism.
Great and timely piece.
Thank you very much for another first class piece of writing.
If you will allow a very small and pedantic observation…I believe it was the wish of the American colonists to free themselves from the British yoke, rather than the British yolk.
"Self-government is hard. It requires constant diligence. One cannot afford delusions about the nobility of the people or the pliability of human nature."
Democracy and its lipstick-wearing cousin, democratic representation, are always failures. It is merely idiots electing idiots. Demand a meritocracy.
Ah, but who will judge merit?
"Ah, but who will judge merit?"
Merit is the best qualified to perform a task.
What is your solution to this country's problems?
That the Founders had a vivid Calvinistic sense of human evil and damnation and believed with Hobbes that men are selfish and contentious was classic lose-lose assumption that has poisoned American politics ever since.
Confucius made the opposite assumption and Chinese civilization, now in its third millennium, is thriving as never before.
With all the freedom and liberty no doubt
More, in fact. And more democracy, too.
I've been writing about the dangers of optimism for over a year now. Optimism is evil. Pelagianism is the root of all evil.
Machiavelli have his own ideas and I think he is much more realistic than James Madison who designed the federal government (NOT a republic as there are already 13 republics) to be largely guided by the aristocracy in the mode of British semi-republic. But Machiavelli was much more skeptical of the aristocracy, and his theory of two humors between the Great and the Plebs provide a much-needed correction. So many people whines about democracy and yet, nobody bat an eye when an elitist judge overturned the 37 state referendums on the rectal marriage or a judge overturned CA’s popular referendum outlawing benefits to the illegals. Oh, no. The People are too stupid and selfish, the only thing missing was “racist” or “sexist” but otherwise, what difference really exist between this gang and the DC gang?
https://academic.oup.com/icon/article/8/2/237/700005?login=false
Reasoning machines might well be angels.