Gordon Wood

I saw Gordon Wood speak last night, and I asked him a question about Niebuhr's criticism of classical liberal philosophers - namely that they are too naive when it comes to the power of self-interest.

Wood said that Madison thought he had that covered when he wrote Federalist 10 and 51.  Madison thought states were too self-interested, but a larger republic could be more disinterested.  When Hamilton showed him how active and involved a national government could be, Madison tilted back towards the states.

That explains how the collaborators on the Federalist papers could wind up so far apart politically just a few years later.

I thought it was interesting.