PLS 377 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Federalist No. 10
Document Summary
He shows the dangers of the lack of national unity. He is now giving the benefits of a unity. Despite giving a positive reason, he starts giving reasons again why confederations would not work. Great and radical vice - the states represent almost a lot of countries coming together for their own benefits, and the treaties can be broken. Instead of thinking of themselves as one community, they think of themselves as related but distinct communities. Hamilton describes this as a league vs. a government . The european league shows a weak alliance, a group of distinct countries that do not share a community. Rather than a government of people, it becomes a government of states. Groups are inherently more reasonable than individuals: we all have our own local interests. When we are in groups, our own desires are watered down in the sake of the group.
