Analysis Of Jean-Jacques Rousseau And James Madison

Both Jean-Jacques Rousseau and James Madison shared a profound fear of factionalism. Rousseau envisioned a disastrous scenario in which “particular interests,” or the private desires of citizens, overtake the “general will,” or the singular will of all citizens that is only concerned with the prosperity of the whole. Madison calls factionalism a “mortal disease” that America must find a way to overcome. In order to prevent such factionalism, both authors propose various solutions to grapple with it. Where as Rousseau largely believes that the causes of factionalism can be controlled, Madison believes that only the effects of factionalism can be controlled. Although Rousseau believes that the general will is never destroyed, he does acknowledge

He holds in particularly high regard the “comitia centuriata” of Ancient Rome for its ability to do so. Of Ancient Rome’s three legislative bodies, the “comitia centuriata” was the only to include the entire populous and thus inherently was a good means of determining the general will. Additionally, each member was obligated to publically pronounce their vote. This way, members voting in favor of a policy that only serves one faction would face shame. Of course, such a solution only works so long as representatives value honesty and the respect of their colleagues. Indeed, much of Rousseau’s account of how to prevent factionalism depends on the preservation of such values, or what he calls

The former is not feasible, Madison argues, because liberty is “essential to political life.” It is worth noting that Rousseau seems less opposed to restricting liberty in order to prevent factionalism than Madison. He speaks admiringly of how Servious, a king of Ancient Rome, corrected a numerical imbalance between the three tribes of Rome by creating four new, geographically-based tribes and prohibiting the migration of one tribe member to the area of another tribe. Such a draconian restriction, in Rousseau’s eyes, was beneficial because it both fixed the problem of the moment and reduced the possibility of factional conflict in the future. The latter option that Madison presents to remove the causes of factionalism, making the opinions and interest of all equal, is simply impossible because all men are endowed with different mental abilities that will inevitably lead to a diversity of