James Madison
Co-author of The Federalist Papers, emphasizing the importance of checks and balances and the prevention of tyranny.
Core Belief
"A well-designed republic, with carefully crafted checks and balances, is the best way to protect individual liberties and prevent the tyranny of factions."
Worldview
Madison sees the world as inherently prone to conflict and factionalism. He believes that government must be structured in such a way as to harness these competing interests and prevent any one group from dominating the others.
Personality
Thoughtful, scholarly, and cautious, Madison is deeply concerned with protecting individual liberties and preventing the abuse of power. He is a meticulous thinker who favors careful analysis and reasoned debate.
In Their Own Words
"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on 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."
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