what are two ways in which madison believes factions can be dealt with?

3 hours ago 1
Nature

James Madison believes there are two main ways to deal with factions:

  1. Remove the causes of faction: This can theoretically be done by either destroying liberty, which is essential to faction existence (like air to fire), or by trying to make everyone have the same opinions, passions, and interests. Madison rejects both of these as impractical and undesirable because liberty is essential to political life, and diversity of opinion is natural and unavoidable.
  2. Control the effects of faction: Since removing the causes is impractical, the only viable solution is to control the effects factions have. Madison argues that this can be done by preventing any one faction from gaining too much power, especially preventing majority factions from oppressing minorities. This is where a large republic and a system of representation serve to dilute factional influence and protect the public good.

Thus, Madison’s two ways are either attempting (impractically) to remove the causes or more realistically, controlling the harmful effects of factions through a well-constructed government system.