What are James Madison's point of view on government?

Answer 1

James Madison's point of view to the government was to find a way to "at once support the national authority, and leave in force the local authorities" only to the extent that the local authorities could be useful without interfering with the national government

Answer 2

Madison thinks that humans are essentially bad. There is a natural push behind them making them selfish and causing animosity within a group. This push is caused human nature. (It can be found within the federalist papers #10.)

Answer 3

Madison, as you probably know, saw the depravity in human nature, but at the same time saw virtue as well. He believed that the government would be the true reflection of the people it represented and it must not conform to the evils of human nature. So, therefore, his views of human nature affected his theory in government by limiting the power of the government to prevent corruption.

Look at this quote from Federalist No. 51:

"What is government but the greatest of all reflections on human nature. If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on the government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself."

James Madison, The Federalist No. 51

Answer 4

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