An Argument Open to All: Reading "The Federalist" in the 21st Century

367 Pages·2015·1.37 MB·English

by  Sanford Levinson

An Argument Open to All
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An Argument
Open to All
Reading The Federalist in the
Twenty-First Century
SANFORD LEVINSON
New Haven & London
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Copyright © 2015 by Sanford Levinson.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations,
in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the
U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press),
without written permission from the publishers.
Yale University Press books may be purchased in quantity for educational,
business, or promotional use. For information, please e-mail
[email protected] (U.S. offi ce) or [email protected] (U.K. offi ce).
Designed by James J. Johnson.
Set in Miller Roman type by Newgen North America.
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015940161
ISBN: 978-0-300-19959-8
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
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For Michael Walzer, on the occasion of his eightieth birthday
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Contents
Publius, Our Contemporary: An Introduction 1
PART 1.
Something Must Be Done to Save the Union 7
federalist 1. On the Frequency of “Refl ection and Choice”
by “We the People” 9
federalist 2. How Much Pluribus within a Single Unum? 12
federalist 3. Federalism and Foreign Policy 17
federalist 4. “ Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force” 20
federalist 5. In Union There Is Strength 23
federalist 6. H umankind as “Ambitious, Vindictive, and
Rapacious” 26
federalist 7. E ndless Sources of Confl ict (and War), Even within the
United States 29
federalist 8. On the Rise of a Militarized State 33
PART 2.
Bigger Is, in Fact, Better 37
federalist 9. The New (and Improved) Science of Politics 39
federalist 10. C an Moral or Religious Education Overcome Natural
Tendencies toward Faction? 42
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viii Contents
federalist 11. It’s a Harsh and Competitive World Out There 45
federalist 12. Commerce and State Finance 47
federalist 13. Economies of Scale 50
federalist 14. Publius and Permanent Revolution (or, at Least,
Improvement) 52
PART 3.
Why “Confederation” Is Both “Odious”
and an “Imbecility” 55
federalist 15. “The Imbecility of Our Government” 57
federalist 16. Why Confederation Is “Odious” and a National
Government Is Necessary 60
federalist 17. The Political Sociology of Federalism (Part I) 64
federalist 18. Ancient History as Caution 68
federalist 19. The Defects of Multiple Sovereigns 70
federalist 20. T he Dutch Provide the Final Cautionary
Example 72
federalist 21. On the Importance of Sanctions 75
federalist 22. Publius as Majoritarian 78
PART 4.
The State and the Machinery of Death
(or, at Least, Defense): Standing Armies 83
federalist 23. “ Common Defence” and (Un)limited Government 85
federalist 24. The Inconvenience of Militia Service 88
federalist 25. More on the Merits of Standing Armies 91
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Contents ix
federalist 26. In Whom Do We Place Our “Confi dence”? 93
federalist 27. F urther Refl ections on Confi dence in the National
Government 98
federalist 28. The Necessity of Force 101
federalist 29. “Concerning the Militia” 104
PART 5.
How Does One Pay for the Services Supplied by the Union?
On Taxes and the Taxing Power 109
federalist 30. First Death, Now Taxes 111
federalist 31. On the Inutility of Specifi ed Limits 114
federalist 32. Taxation and Constitutional Interpretation 116
federalist 33. The Irrelevance of Text 119
federalist 34. Drafting a Constitution with the Long View in
Mind 123
federalist 35. W ho Will Allocate the Tax Burdens, and Why Should
We Trust Them? 126
federalist 36. State and National Offi cials as Partners or
Adversaries 129
PART 6.
To Err Is Human (and Perfect Clarity Is Chimerical) 133
federalist 37. Human (and Even Divine) Fallibility and Written
Constitutions 135
federalist 38. The Best as the Enemy of the Good—and the
Necessary 139
federalist 39. Federalism, “Compact,” and the Specter of
Secession 141
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