Justice and Balance?-- Blog 6

Living in a day in age where social media, and the internet have such a profound social impact, compared to the era in which the Federalists papers were written, it can be observed that a lot has changed. The social-political situation, and the impact the populace has on social occurrences has changed. Coming from a period where snail-mail was the backbone of communication, and moving to an age where the world receives a message in a matter of seconds definitely broadens the global plane of political discussion. This makes the situation more unpredictable and fast paced. Approaching it from the perspective of Madison, it would be overwhelming for someone in this time to imagine how the government would manage to keep a social balance under the conditions of a society driven by social media, and along with this balance from Madison’s perspective there would be more factions, government intervention when necessary, and ideally, more protection for minorities. 

Since the social situation of today is different from the climate the author is use to it would require more factions and representations for minorities people with different political views. Madison would be intrigued by the complexity of society, the controversial movements, statements, issues, and statements made via social media. It would give him a lot to work with, and could potentially had an impact on the content of The Constitution. Many of today’s issues have become very difficult to solve because of the protective foundation of The Constitution that many individuals apply to their diverse contextual defenses. However, he would find it problematic because many times in social media, the majority is constantly at war with different segments of the minority or vice versa. The conversations would have to be carried out in a way that would ensure (to its best ability) that “one part of society [is guarded] against the injustice of the other part” (Madison, Federalist 51). However approaching it from his liberal perspective, there would be an understanding of the “different interests [existing] in different classes of citizens (51). This is connected to the fact that different classes are exposed and subjected to different social and economic climates. As and effect of this, Madison would rule that factions are inevitable. So, in response to many of the social disputes today, he would say that one of two things could be done. One can either remove the causes of the factional dispute or one can control effects, which protects the rights of the minority. Madison would easily discover that in many of the social situations of today obstructionism only makes things worse and prolongs suffering and the hardships of the affected members of the populace.

Furthermore, this would mean that if the government were to have a hand in government under Madison’s view there would have to be a strong balance of power, which is what is initial plan was anyway. With that being said, the government's interference would be acting as a mediator and protector of minorities in many cases related to social media today. This would also be in an effort to make sure factions do not get out of control, as well as government still maintains a sense of balance. This control would not impact or impede on the populace’s freedom of speech as that is a constitutional right, but it would be working to combat things like public presentation of hate crimes like our current government is working on becoming more proactive on preventing. This is an example of one group causing the insecurity of the other. 

One contradicting factor would be Madison’s claim in Federalist 10, when he makes the deep-seated statement that “Justice is the end of government”. This is contradictory because the protection of minorities requires a degree of justice in many cases, and this points out the fact that man governing man can be corrupt. If everyone was given the desires of their will, then it would destroy the power structure, which also connects this issue to the Athenian Thesis. The government still must keep the upper hand, so that it remains strong in the end. The populace or minorities cannot be given too much leverage, which means that the structures of society cannot be just or accommodating of everyone or else governing balance will be destroyed. This lack of justice will essentially result in Anarchy when worse comes to worse according to Madison. 

Thus, through the federalist papers, it can be seen that if Madison were present in the modern world, his perception of social media would require more factions, government intervention when necessary, and ideally, more protection for minorities.Applying his perspective to many issues today would make him really question our current situation of leadership in regards to whether or not each branch of government is fully or properly exercising their responsibilities and abilities. Ultimately the framework of the Athenian Thesis and the Machiavellian value of rulers maintaining power over the populace shine through Madison's work. Madison would have an interesting time playing around with how the  balance of power works to day, and the effects of the constitutional foundations he designed. Madison’s republic would struggle in today’s world.