Recovering the Wisdom of Federalist 51 – By Adam Carrington (Real Clear Public Affairs) / Feb 6, 2023
Two-hundred-and-thirty-five years ago on February 6, 1788, James Madison (writing as “Publius”) published perhaps the most famous of the Federalist papers: 51. These papers are essays defending the proposed constitution, which still stands as our governing document and a masterpiece of political structure. Federalist 51 remains an important summary of the principles that inform the U.S. Constitution – principles we’ve forgotten.
For one, Federalist 51 posited a purpose for our lives together. Madison wrote, “Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society.” We form political communities and structures to protect and exercise inherent rights. Both individually and collectively, this goal of justice orders our pursuits.
For another, this paper notes the foundational problem with humanity’s pursuit of justice: humanity itself. Madison writes of government as “the greatest of all reflections on human nature.” Government must exist because, as the paper famously diagnoses, men are not “angels.” Instead, humanity is fallen and sinful by nature. Human selfishness leads to oppression wherein persons suffer infringement of their individual rights – a violation of justice.
But here we run into the problem central to Federalist 51 – and the Federalist in general. We establish rule over human beings to limit the harm that man can enact against man. Doing so involves, however, rule by human beings exercising governmental powers. As one recognizes that the men ruled aren’t angels, one must also recognize that the ones ruling aren’t either. This requires a government that is limited.
