CHAPTER V

MIXED GOVERNMENT AND CLASSICAL PASTORALISM

I. ANTIDEMOCRATIC BIAS

    A. Athenian Democracy

        1. Greek culture was not egalitarian.   Remember too that the American Founding Fathers for the most part were aristocrats, rich land owners especially in the south.  They were the "elite."

            a. Free vs. slave; men vs. women; rich vs. poor; citizen vs. immigant;  Greek vs. foreigner (Barbarian).

        2. Ancient opponents of democracy.

            a. Old Oligarch.

            b. Thucydides.   He hated Cleon, the leader of the Athenian democracy after Pericles.  Cleon had Thucydides exiled.

            c. Plato.   Athens had killed Socrates.  Cf. CAC 35.

            d. Xenophon liked Sparta.

    B. Plato's types of government and their degeneration (Laws; Politicus)

        1. Monarchy --> Tyranny (p. 124).   Cf. CAC p. 37.

        2. Aristocracy --> Oligarchy.

        3. Democracy --> Ochlocracy (mob rule).

    C. Mixed Government

        1. Plato recommends it although not in the Republic.

        2. Aristotle in the Politics.   Cf. CAC 38.

        3. Polybius in Histories (6.5-18).   Cf. CAC 39.

            a. The cycle of degeneration: the monarch's son has no sense of duty; the aristocrats' children likewise; bribes and factions corrupt a democracy; new strong leader then needed and we are back to the monarch.

            b. Mixed government with its checks and balances can stop the cycle.

    D. Roman Republic

        1. Consuls, Senate, and Comitia constitute a mixed government.  This is the system that Polybius praises.

        2. Reality (p. 126).

            a. The aristocracy dominates the state.  Cicero referred to the senators as the optimates 'the best men.'  But the senate blocked the reforms of the Gracchi.  Only rich men could hold office.  Cicero saw Caesar as a threat to the republican system of government.

    E. Later Thinkers

        1. Thomas Aquinas (Aristotelian) revived the idea of a mixed government.  In spite of Richard, he was hardly a "cloistered cleric."

        2.  John Calvin (p. 127).

          2. Niccolo Machiavelli (p. 127).

            a. Criticizes Athens in favor of Sparta and Rome; thus he is a supporter of mixed government not democracy..

        3. Francesco Guicciardini.

            a. Recommends Sparta as the model for Florence.

   F. The Monarchists and 17th Century Absolutism (p. 128)

        1. Jean Bodin, Robert Filmer, and Thomas Hobbes.

            a. Monarchy was the best system; the divine right of kings.

       2. Filmer used the second century Roman emperor Trajan as the perfect model.

            a. Republics last only a short time; oriental monarchies go on for millennia.

            b.  Mixed government was a fantasy.

        3. Hobbes blames classical education for the preference for a mixed government (p. 129).

        4. James Harrington (17th century) on the other hand defends mixed government against the monarchists.

            a. England as model: King, House of Lords, and House of Commons.

            b. "Natural aristocracy": some have greater talent than others and will become richer and more powerful. Mixed government can stop class warfare.

II. AMERICAN PATRIOTS

    A. Federalists

        1. They felt that George III was a tyrant who had corrupted British mixed government.

            a. Patronage bought the House of Lords and packed the House of Commons.

        2. Situation in America: no monarch and no titled aristocracy.  How can one build a nation out of 13 disparate states?

            a. State constitutions: governor; senate (property qualifications because rich are the aristoi?), assembly.

        3. Jefferson influenced by Montesquieu desired a mixed government where the aristocracy would be most influential..

            a. An elitist, he was afraid of democracy: "a choice by the people themselves is not generally distinguished for its wisdom" (p. 132).

            b. Disliked Virginia's direct election of senators and the weakness of its governor.

            c. Wanted the governor to have power to appoint judges.

        4. John Adams, most vigorous proponent of mixed government.

            a. "The best governments of the world have been mixed" (p. 132).

            b. He helped draft the Massachusetts constitutions: property qualifications for the electors; senate representation based on amount of taxes paid by a district.  Note once again the elitism that goes with a mixed government since it makes a distinction between the aristocracy (rich) and the commoners (poor).

            c. Separation of powers necessary for a proper mixed government: veto power for each branch; necessity of a strong executive; fear of a single-assembly system which would be dominated by the natural aristocracy (read p. 134).

            d. Distrust of democracy as a stop on the way to a tyranny (read p. 135).

            e. His analysis of the fall of the Roman republic: monarchy overthrown; oligarchy; people grasping for more power; Caesar, the leader of the many, against Pompey, the leader of the few (p. 136).  Cf. populares vs. optimates.

            f. Carthage: too much power in the popular assembly.

            g. Sparta: wealth and luxury, the result of the conquest of Athens, destroyed the values of the people; women acquired wealth (males killed in war) and opposed the military ethos (p. 137).

            h. Athens: democracy became mob rule which leads to the tyrant; ostracism not a sensible solution.

            i. Hope for America: moderation and balance exercised by the three orders; representation, separation of powers, and the veto power for each order; a natural aristocracy (p. 138).

            j. Montesquieu: separation of powers concerned branches of government not the social classes.

            k. Adams originally supported the Articles of Confederation but shifted to a vigorous support of the new U.S. Constitution since it proposed a mixed government; praise of Polybius (p. 139).

        5. James Madison.

            a. Fear of democracy: wanted a nine year term for senators; protect the interests of the landowners and wealthy (read p. 139).

            b. Model of Roman and Carthaginian senates; lifetime terms; a natural aristocracy;

            c. Feared a tyranny by the majority and thus favored strong central government over the individual states which could be controlled by the majority. Individual states, for example, could inflate their currency and thus effectively cancel debts.  Cf. slavery in the southern states; only the federal government could abolish it  (not Madison's example).

            d. Author of many important Federalist Papers advocating the adoption of the new constitution.  He contrasts representative republics (Rome and the United States) and participatory democracies (Athens).

        6. Alexander Hamilton.

            a. Advocated lifetime terms for the President and the Senate (read p. 141).  He wanted life terms for senators so as to preserve property rights.

            b. The few and the many; government must be in the hands of both groups (read p. 142)..

        7. John Dickinson.

            a. Make the Senate another House of Lords.

            b. Fear of the people and democracy.

    B. Antifederalists

        1. Centinel, Philadelphiensis, Helvidius Priscus, An Old Whig etc. opposed the new constitution (p. 145)

            a. Were there examples of mixed government that actually worked?  England?  No since there were property requirements even for the House of Commons.

            c. The new constitution would produce an oligarchy; wealthy would be favored; tyranny; Aesop's fable of the axe handle and the tree (p. 145); similar to the dicturm of Lenin: capitalists will sell the ropes they will hang by to the communists .

            d. Nothing wrong with the Articles of Confederation.

            e. Due to the large size of the electoral districts even the House of Representatives would represent the wealthy (p. 146).  They have proved to have been correct.

        2. Charles Pinckney of South Carolina (1757-1824).

            a.   He had been a federalist but in 1791 he joined Jefferson in the Democratic-Republican party.

            b. Initial opposition to the new constitution since he felt that Americawas totally different and thus mixed government will not work (p. 144).  He does eventually support the new constitution because it was a mixed government.

        3. James Monroe.

            a. America is different and we need a new system not the traditional mixed government (p. 145).

         4. George Mason.

            a. "It is at present impossible to foresee whether it will, ..., produce a monarchy or a corrupt, tyrannical aristocracy" (p. 146).

    C. Virtue vs. Depravity

        1. Antifederalists: virtue achieved by education and majority i.e. democratic rule.

            a.  Note the emphasis on virtue and not values.  Everyone has values.

            b.  Do education and knowledge lead to virtue?  Socrates says yes; St. Paul says no.

        2. Federalists believe that virtue is to be achieved by a balance between the three orders, i.e. mixed government..

            a. John Adams pessimistic view of human nature: "...Religion, superstition, oaths, education, laws, all give way before passions, interest, and power, which can be resisted only by passions, interest, and power" (p. 147).  Can a system of government really make people virtuous?   Cf. China with its re-education programs and Soviet Russia.

            b. Class conflict in Greece and Rome: landed few vs. landless many; calls for the cancellation of debts (remember the Gracchi); Peloponnesian War (the many in other city-states favor Athens).   Can America avoid these problems?

            c. Can an aristocratic senate check demagogues who will arise to lead the people astray? (p. 149)

        3. More on the American situation.

            a. Unity during the war: class differences were submerged.

            b. In the 1780's state legislatures allow inflation to lower debts; wealthy see this as an echo of the class struggles in antiquity.

            c. John Adams: "...aristocracy is the monster to be chained; yet so chained as not to be hurt..." (p. 150); "...who are the aristoi 'the best?'  Philosophy may answer 'the wise and the good'...But the world, mankind, have always answered 'the rich, the beautiful, and well-born."  Cf. Academy Awards.

            d. Adams again argues that one cannot legislate the rich and well-born out of existence. . His solution is a balance of the orders.

    D. Natural Aristocracy

        1. John Taylor's An Inquiry into the Principles and Policy of the Government of the United States (1814).

            a. An Antifederalist from Virginia, he argues against a natural aristocracy (p. 151).

            b. The new aristocracy in the commercial state is founded on paper wealth not land and property and was worse than earlier aristocracies and should be eliminated.

        2. Adams argues for a natural aristocracy.

            a. He was criticized as advocating a monarchy and aristocracy, but he responded, "Was Hercules not stronger than his neighbors...?" (P. 154)

            b. This aristocracy would be held in check by the balance of the orders.

        3. Modern controversies.

            a. Elitism: standardized testing (SAT's), homogeneous class grouping.

            b.  Admission into college: affirmative action; children of alumni; athletes.

III. SHIFT FROM MIXED GOVERNMENT TO REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

    A. James Madison (read p. 154)

        1. Federalist No. 10. (1788) How to avoid tyranny by the majority?

            a. The USA has more that two factions (few and many). Planters vs. merchants; Catholics vs. Protestants; north vs. south; rich vs. poor; slave vs. free; conservative vs. liberals; etc. etc. Divide and conquer: no one group could dominate the other. 

            b. Is this the way it works today? 

            c. Still were the few and the many (rich and poor) the fundamental divisions? Antifederalists side with the many, the poor, seeing them as virtuous.

        2. Madison objected to Alexander Hamilton's fiscal policies (Bank of USA, protective tariffs) which would lead to a redivision of wealth in favor of a rich oligarchy.

        3. "Different interests and parties arise out of the nature of things, and the great art of politicians lies in making them checks and balances to each other" (p. 156).

    B. Thomas Jefferson (p. 157)

        1. Repudiates mixed government: "The introduction of this new principle of representative democracy has rendered useless almost everything written before on the structure of government..."  America is different.

IV. CLASSICAL PASTORALISM AND VIRTUE

    A. Abundance of Land

        1. Citizenry of Vergilian farmers who would necessarily be virtuous and therefore there is no reason to fear representative democracy.

            a.  This justifies the shift from a simple mixed government to a democratic republic.  There is nothing to fear from a democracy since the virtuous people will be represented in the government.

    B. Classical Sources

        1. Hesiod and Theocritus.

        2. Vergil, Horace, and Ovid.

            a. Georgics (read p. 159).

    C. The Pastoral Myth

        1. Sparta vs. Athens.

        2. Rome (farmers) vs. Carthage (merchants).

        3. The ideal of the farmer: Cincinnatus; city life vs. country life; commerce not respectable.

        4. Slave labor on Roman plantations: did the Roman patron do hard manual work?

            a.  Rural South vs. industrial North.

        5. Farmer George: the movie The Madness of King George.

        6. Jefferson and Horace: Epodes 2 (read p. 161).

        7. Jefferson and Notes on the State of Virginia (p. 162).

            a. "The mobs of great cities add just so much to the support of pure government as sores do to the strength of the human body."

            b. Necessity of vacant lands in America; the Louisiana Purchase.

        8. Jefferson's bellicose threats against England in 1815 (p. 164).

            a. England is the new Carthage, a nation of merchants and traders.  A new Scipio Africanus will destroy it.

        9. John Taylor links classical pastoralism and the Bible (p. 164).

            a.  The Garden of Eden was a farm not a factory town.

        10. Madison's eulogy on pastoral life (read p. 165).

            a. What will happen when there is no more land available?

        11. Stigma of commerce and money.   Business was less honorable than farming.

            a. John Hancock gave away most of the money he had made in business to prove he was not interested in acquiring wealth.

            b. Robert Morris.

    D. The Ages of the Human Race

        1. Hesiod and Ovid.

            a. Golden, silver, bronze, iron.

        2. Degeneration vs evolutionary optimism.

            a. Garden of Eden.

            b. Darwin.

V. Conclusion (read p. 167)