James Madison (1751-1836) was an outstanding political scientist who contributed a great deal to political practice. He always wrote politically purposeful material. Madison’s contribution to political theory led to his being recognized as the “father of the constitution”. The major purpose in his work was one: to help in the ratification or shaping the American order of politics.
For this, Madison has been acclaimed for developing the revolutionary theory of federalism, while on the other hand he developed the theory of republicanism. These inventions have greatly influenced and shaped the present political order.
This paper will actually discuss Madison’s political theory by detailing its primary features, intellectual character at the time and the problems the theory was intended to address.
Liberty
This is one area that greatly consumed Madison’s thought as far as political consciousness was concerned. He therefore, envisaged a different three dimension kind of liberty. Madison felt that liberty was a right that should not be denied to any human being. Due to this he advocated for “American liberty”. The other liberty is that which espouses popular sovereignty.
Here it meant that government must subordinate to its people and not vice-versa. This is enshrined in the expression that “All men are born free”. In Madison’s view the sovereignty of the people must be given great importance. To achieve this, human consent must be sought for any government wishing to implement action
Madison rates justice as being the end of civil society and also the end of government. He meant that justice precedes liberty. The intention of Madison here was to present a society that boasts of justice and freedom. He also felt that justice plays a very crucial role in shaping society. For example, just laws can make men good. There is, in this intention, the hidden element of virtue and morality.
Self – Government
Madison advocated for self-government and the inherent liberties. He asserted that for a government to be said to be free, it must always make sure that its ends are secured. This is even beneficial to the government, since in cases where a government is perceived to be incompetent, then it risks being brought down.
He, therefore, criticized the widely accepted notion that the destiny and welfare of the people is well taken care of by the rulers. He also averred that such rulers are not good guardians of public good and private rights. Madison was cognizant of the weakness of human nature. He observed that human beings are prone to vice such as arrogance, violence and even other forms of misuse of power, to achieve selfish ends.
Through this one can already see that Madison was indirectly advocating for checks and balances in constitutionalism. These checks and balances would limit such misuse of power. So if tools of power are not properly structured to handle such inherent loopholes through which human nature can take advantage, then the society can be doomed by the very people who posed as custodians of their liberties and freedom.
For example, in monarchies, the rights and liberties of many could be trampled upon, especially if such were to be headed by a despotic leader. Though Madison asserted that major rule is better than a monarchy or aristocracy, the majority rule could also prove detrimental, especially, if it comprises of a faction – a number of people who share some wishes and desires, which may be adversarial to the rest.
Madison, in his work, has observed that society is full of these factions, which are usually guided by differing religious beliefs, parties etc. He, however, feels that the worst case is usually driven by unequal distribution of wealth. Public officers could also aggravate the situation by usurping the power of the people, hence tyranny. In a nutshell, the intention of this principle is that there should be separation of power so that no section uses power to frustrate the masses.
Constitution
Madison had a notable Christian background. This background can be seen in the model constitution he propounds. Perhaps, the inquisition time formed the basis of his mind’s invigoration towards the relationship between religion and state. He proposes separation between religion and state.
By this separation Madison envisaged a situation where it would now be easy to form national unity, since religious matters had proved quite divisive at the time. The constitution could guide this venture by explicitly reflecting the separation that exists between government and religion.
Power was also an important element of the constitution. What needed to provide this was power from the people. He, in effect, felt that for what is in the constitution to be implemented, there must be the enforcer. He thus suggested a national executive to be the one to handle implementation.
National success would be attained if the government effectively played its role of ensuring its custodial role is adhered to. The constitution was actually meant to guard the national good, according to Madison. Madison also felt that ownership of property is a right, and for the state to take off that role is to deny the citizens of their inalienable right and freedom.
He saw class struggle as a cancer for the republic. Thus, representation would serve to cut across the class. It was good for men and women of high integrity to join the legislature. But this was not going to be for the good of leaders, but for the general good of the masses. Achievement of legislative virtue formed Madison’s core expectation when he proposed representation.
Madison also felt that accumulation of judiciary, legislative and executive power into some hands could lead to tyranny. He therefore proposed separation of power to counter such a situation. Madison hence proposed that such holders should people of high integrity and unrivalled intellectual resources.
This could perhaps suggest that maybe by then many did not have the desired intellectual capacity to handle such positions, which needed persons endowed intellectually. Madison, therefore, envisaged a senate that acts as an embodiment of justice, guided by reason and wisdom. Such a ‘high-toned’ senate would assure quality legislation.
Conclusion
James Madison as can be seen from his theory, was an all round theorist. He was aware of the excesses of human nature and that is why he proposed a situation where human excesses and weaknesses are put under control. He also did not leave out the damaging effect emotive issues such as religion, class and even partisan considerations could have on national good.
It is for this reason that he advocated for the separation of religion from state. All in all, Madison did succeed in bringing to light controls that could curb human excesses, while at the same time guarantee a government that cherishes justice, reason and consent of the people.