Why Do We Have Politics? Madison’s Catechism, Madison’s Mistake, and the Nation’s Perilous Trajectory

Explore James Madison’s foundational concern: the greatest threat to democracy is tyranny—specifically, tyranny of the majority. His solution was a vast republic with diverse factions to prevent stable majorities from seizing unchecked power. Yet Madison misjudged where power would concentrate. Rather than Congress dominating, today’s legislature has ceded authority to an expansive executive, enabled by a dormant nondelegation doctrine. This shift leaves the nation ill-equipped to confront predictable crises—most notably, the mounting national debt. Despite partisan rancor, the political class is increasingly unified by shared self-interest in re-election, not divided by ideology. Join us on Thursday, November 6, 2025, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET.

Speakers:
George F. Will‘s newspaper column has been syndicated by The Washington Post since 1974. Today it appears twice weekly in more than 300 newspapers. In 1976 he became a regular contributing editor of Newsweek magazine, for which he provided a bimonthly essay until 2011. In 1977 he won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary in his newspaper columns.

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