Why was James Madison so critical of democracies? Moreover, why was he so concerned about them when, according to the definition he provided, "democracies" basically don't exist anywhere, either in his time or in our own.
Today, many conservatives like to claim that "the Founding Fathers" opposed democracy and supported less majoritarian republics.
However, as is nearly always the case whenever "the Founding Fathers" are involved, a more accurate statement would be "some Founding Fathers" condemned democracy. Indeed, many of the Founding Fathers — especially among the Anti-Federalists, openly described themselves as being in favor of "democracy" and "the democratical spirit."
This is no coincidence.
By attacking democracy, Madison was attempting to discredit the more decentralized and more democratic state governments that were preventing the sort of powerful and centralized government that Madison wanted.
Thus, Madison sought to condemn localized government that was close to the people, and substitute a vast, less-representative "republic" that was the be the playground of a small number of powerful men — all at taxpayer expense, of course.
Thanks to the political realities of the time, Madison couldn't come right out and condemn the state governments, lest he look too radical. So, he employed subterfuge and a definition for democracy that could then be used to insinuate that the state government were too close to "mob rule" and must be reined in.
Specifically, Madison defined a democracy as "a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person." These societies, Madison contended "have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention."
Now, obviously, none of the US states at the time fit this description, strictly speaking. There was no "direct democracy," and every state employed elected representatives.
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Originally Posted by Chris
