Robert Dahls American Hybrid in agreement with Madisonian Model as expressed in Federalist 10

James Madison 's contribution in the drafting of the second American Constitution had become very important that his propositions remain to this day as the most distinctive and powerful characteristics of the American political system . Now known as the Madisonian Model , the erstwhile President of the United States proposed the adoption of constitutional republic by limiting the control of the majority separating powers among the legislature the executive and the judiciary creating a system of checks and balances and establishing a federal system of government

In Federalist 10 , Madison illustrates how

factions or clashing interests engenders more instability , injustice and confusion in a democracy , and raises the danger of majority tyranny as the public good and rights of the minority may become subservient to the unified interest of the majority in a popular government . He then rejects pure democracy wherein the citizens administer their own government and no protection was given to the interest of the weaker party , and suggests that only a republic or a government in which a scheme of representation takes place can mitigate the effects of factions

On the other hand , while Robert Dahl also believes that it is through a representative government that the interests of the minorities can be heard in the policy-making process , he underestimates the notion of majority tyranny , but rather , emphasizes the rule of the minorities in the American political system . Even the outcomes of elections were not reflective of the will of majority because in the first place , most presidential elections winners won by plurality and not by majority , and second , because there are instances when the majority do not even cast their votes during elections

Although Madison and Dahl both agreed on the intense interplay of different interests in a democracy , Dahl proposes that this dynamics cannot be described fully in terms of competition between the majorities and minorities , but rather by groups of various types which seek to advance their goals , albeit at the expense of others . In his second proposition in the American Hybrid he stresses that elections and political competitions , as methods of social control , do not make for government by majorities , but by minorities , whose preferences must be considered by political leaders in making policy choices . For Madison such political leaders can be found in a republican system of government wherein leaders are chosen for their wisdom to discern what is for the public good over the interest of the few

However , in his third proposition , Dahl admits that underlying the democratic politics is the consensus on policy that usually exists among a predominant portion of politically active members of the society . The politically active may or may not refer to a majority , but it sure refers to Madison 's factional interests that are entrenched in a system wherein legislators are also advocates of their own causes . Such are the interest of the landed , mercantile , manufacturing , etc . which had also been a criticism to the Madisonian Model 's tendency to preserve the status quo . theless...