LAD #4: The Federalist #10

1. Why are factions so difficult to eliminate?

Factions are so difficult to eliminate because in order to do so, one must either relinquish the liberty that allows the faction to be formed or to instill the same opinions into each citizen. Relinquishing the liberties of the faction would be difficult because liberty is the basis of democratic politics, and to take away that liberty would be going against the beliefs of the American Government. It would be hard to eliminate factions using the second method because everyone is prone to make different opinions of everything based on their outlook and their past. People will never see eye to eye and it would be impossible to make people do that in order to stop a faction.

2. If factions cannot be removed then how can they be controlled?

There are a few ways of controlling a faction. The first way can only occur if the faction makes up a minority of the population. In that case, one could turn to the principal of majority rules, in order to overrule the faction democratically. This allows the majority to override the faction by voting. Another way over controlling a faction can occur only when the faction contains the majority of the population. In order to do this, one must have the interests of the public good in mind. In addition, one must attempt to make the people hold different interests and opinions so they do not always agree so easily. Factions may also be controlled by introducing certain Republican ideas into the government such as choosing representatives for certain areas as well as having the different states unite like they did. The republican form of government prevents factions from spreading because one faction may influence a certain area, but it will be unable to spread to certain areas because the states have different representatives and different ideals.