The Talented Mr. Madison

Historian and AEI fellow Jay Cost is back on The Remnant to discuss his new ...

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Historian and AEI fellow Jay Cost is back on The Remnant to discuss his new biography of James Madison, which focuses on the political theory of Jonah’s favorite Founding Father. Jay and Jonah fuse rank punditry with historical nerdery to explore how a little Madisonian wisdom could go a long way toward solving our most pressing institutional challenges. What are the greatest misconceptions about Madison and the founding? How should the Declaration of Independence be understood? And could American politics use more smoke-filled rooms?

Show Notes:

–Jay’s page at AEI

–Jay’s previous Remnant appearance

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  1. Avatar photo
    Jake P

    Did anyone catch the name/article in regards to St. Augustine about half way though? Daniel something? It wasn't in the show notes either.

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    Daniel Standage

    It was entertaining to hear someone rant on parties and primaries harder than Jonah. Great pod!

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    John Russell

    When I clicked on the link titled "Polybius (the historian, not the mythical video game)" the robot opened an article at National Review Online titled "New National Survey Finds that Porn Use Decreases Relationship Satisfaction." (Please fix)

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    Mkapnick

    This was absolutely delightful. Sort of podcast porn for fans of James Madison : ) I could have listened to another hour....

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    Ben Connelly

    Great episode! I’ve been a Madisonian since I was born. Knew Woodrow Wilson was bad since I could talk.

    For the record, Rome was around for 12 centuries. I believe there’s the prophecy of the 12 eagles predicting it (supposedly).

    On the subject of parts of Europe being materially not better than during the Roman Empire until fairly recently: I was in Italy and heard an Italian many say it wasn’t until the 60s (the 1960s) that Italy surpassed its standard of living in Rome’s heyday.

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  6. Richard Fulmer

    Jay Cost: “Politics has become, over the course of my adulthood, a really pathetic spectacle…. I don’t think that anybody really has faith in politics to resolve disputes that exist within society.”

    Yet we continue to shift things into the realm of politics that can be resolved between individuals and in the natural course of commerce and trade.

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    Dan Jett

    Great discussion. Loved this.

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    Bill Nelson

    This is exactly the type of discussion I appreciate. Madison’s role in the Constitutional Convention is indeed interesting, more so historically than at the time. As the chief note taker, Madison has a strong impact on how we see that event, though he took good notes that do not interject his views.
    What we do not know is his impact on the daily private group conversations which occurred daily at meals and evening gatherings (Washington is somewhat unique as he quite often road out into the country alone as time permitted). Madison’s ability to politic one on one had to have had an impact, though he was not part of all the various groups (eg the small states). And he was sometimes surprised by some of the back room deals that were made (Rutledge and the slavery issue).
    I find all of the participants fascinating, and interesting to note that some of the key players lives ended somewhat tragically.

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  9. Dylan Paul

    Take it easy on teleology, heathen! You've been conflating the religious understanding of God's design with Hegelian nonsense since Suicide of the West. Same old atheistic mistake good old George Will makes and the great Hayek made before him. But to quote the great theologian whom you respect, St. Augustine: "It does not follow that, though there is for God a certain order of all causes, there must therefore be nothing depending on the free exercise of our own wills, for our wills themselves are included in that order of causes which is certain to God, and is embraced by His foreknowledge."

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  10. Richard Fulmer

    Jonah: “If you know there’s going to be another election down the road, it creates a long-term incentive structure to play by the rules because you know that you’re going to have another chance to win an election.”

    A big part of the secret of dealing with other people is understanding that there is a next time – that today is not all that matters. Jordan Peterson occasionally makes this point when he observes that, to a child, "winning" means being more than dominating a single game – it means being asked to play again. The child's incentive, then, is to play fair and win or lose gracefully.

    Similarly, browbeating a spouse might win an argument today, but at the cost of happiness tomorrow. A business owner might increase profits today by cheating a customer, but only at the expense of lower profits – and, perhaps, bankruptcy – in the future.

    To an individual politician, winning means getting reelected. That could mean improving his constituents' lives, but not always. Solving a problem might mean the loss of an issue that keeps special interest groups focused and donations and votes flowing in.

    Political parties have a longer time horizon than the next election, and they used to have the financial clout to keep individual candidates focused on more than their own next campaign. McCain-Feingold shifted money – and, therefore, power – away from the parties as has social media, which allows individual politicians to collect campaign contributions from donors nationwide.

    As a result, we end up with politicians like Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Matt Gaetz - none of whom have any loyalty to their parties. Obama and Trump in particular, used their parties for their own benefit and then left them in ruins.

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