PS 201 Fall, 1998
Introduction to US Politics
Anti-Federalist and Federalist Models of a Republic | ||
Dimension | Anti-Federalist | Federalist |
size | small | large |
nature of representation | representatives like and closely connected with those represented | a filter selecting the best representatives (the "natural aristocracy") and putting them at a distance from the represented |
sovereignty | the Union conceived primarily as a confederation of sovereign states; this should be preserved as much as possible | the Union as an indissoluble unity of the states, making citizenship essentially national and sovereignty a relationship between the people and the federal government |
goal of legislative deliberation | identification of the common interest; the maintenance or restoration of amity--thus protracted discord is undesirable | balancing of contending interests; trade-offs; regulated conflict--thus protracted discord is expected and must be managed |
basis of governmental legitimacy | public trust based on close ties between representatives and citizens (subjective bonds) | public trust based on effective administration (objective results) |
primary danger | the tyranny of elites exercised through "aristocratic" and "consolidated" government | the tyranny of majorities, chiefly against the rights of property, exercised through overly democratic government |
basic solution to primary danger | Concentrate power in the legislature and keep the legislators close to the citizenry | "checks and balances"; a large republic of diverse interests; and representation as a filter, all in order to prevent effective majorities from forming or at least from persisting long enough to carry through their programs |
Some Possible Types of Republics | |||
Egalitarian & Democratic? | |||
Yes | No | ||
Size | Small | democratic (at least for those included in the franchise) Anti-Federalist | hierarchic Anti-Federalist |
Large | ?? | Federalist ("elite pluralism") |