Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to The Federalist
- Other Volumes in the Series of Cambridge Companions to Philosophy
- The Cambridge Companion to The Federalist
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Publius and the Anti-Federalists:
- 2 John Jay, The Federalist, and the Constitution
- 3 “A Vigorous National Government”: Hamilton on Security, War, and Revenue
- 4 “The Known Opinion of the Impartial World”
- 5 The Federalist’s New Federalism
- 6 The Political Psychology of Publius
- 7 Montesquieu, Hume, Adam Smith, and the Philosophical Perspective of The Federalist
- 8 Madison’s Republican Remedy
- 9 The Republicanism of Publius
- 10 “The Interest of the Man”: James Madison’s Constitutional Politics
- 11 Politics Indoors and Out-of-Doors
- 12 “The Cool and Deliberate Sense of the Community”
- 13 Publius on Monarchy
- 14 The Genius of Hamilton and the Birth of the Modern Theory of the Judiciary
- 15 Publius’s Political Science
- 16 The Republican Form of Government in The Federalist
- Index
- Other Volumes in the Series of Cambridge Companions to Philosophy
6 - The Political Psychology of Publius
Reason, Passion, and Interest in The Federalist
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2020
By
Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to The Federalist
- Other Volumes in the Series of Cambridge Companions to Philosophy
- The Cambridge Companion to The Federalist
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Publius and the Anti-Federalists:
- 2 John Jay, The Federalist, and the Constitution
- 3 “A Vigorous National Government”: Hamilton on Security, War, and Revenue
- 4 “The Known Opinion of the Impartial World”
- 5 The Federalist’s New Federalism
- 6 The Political Psychology of Publius
- 7 Montesquieu, Hume, Adam Smith, and the Philosophical Perspective of The Federalist
- 8 Madison’s Republican Remedy
- 9 The Republicanism of Publius
- 10 “The Interest of the Man”: James Madison’s Constitutional Politics
- 11 Politics Indoors and Out-of-Doors
- 12 “The Cool and Deliberate Sense of the Community”
- 13 Publius on Monarchy
- 14 The Genius of Hamilton and the Birth of the Modern Theory of the Judiciary
- 15 Publius’s Political Science
- 16 The Republican Form of Government in The Federalist
- Index
- Other Volumes in the Series of Cambridge Companions to Philosophy
Summary
A common perception of the arguments in The Federalist may be stated as follows. In designing the Constitution, the framers were motivated by reason. Their task was to limit the influence of interest and passion, and perhaps enhance the role of reason, in the future political agents whose choices the Constitution would guide and constrain. In a more compact version, to paraphrase Friedrich Hayek, the American Constitution – like constitutions quite generally – was a tie imposed by Peter when sober on Peter when drunk.
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- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to The Federalist , pp. 194 - 227Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020