Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

From Federalist No. 63 to Gaza: How the U.S. System Was Designed to Ignore the People

The mass atrocities committed in Gaza throughout 2023–2024, and the Biden administration’s calculated response to widespread public dissent, weren’t an accident or a moral failing unique to the moment. They were the predictable, logical consequence of the U.S. political system as it was designed — a system constructed by elites like James Madison to absorb, pacify, and ultimately ignore the public’s will when it conflicts with the interests of the ruling class.

This isn’t hyperbole. It’s the documented intention behind the creation of the American Republic, written plainly in the Federalist Papers.

Federalist No. 63: The Fear of Public Mood Swings

James Madison, one of the principal architects of the U.S. Constitution, argued in Federalist No. 63 that republics needed mechanisms to restrain what he called the “irregular passions” of the people.

"There are particular moments in public affairs when the people, stimulated by some irregular passion... may call for measures which they themselves will afterwards be the most ready to lament and condemn."

In other words — sometimes the public gets upset about injustice. Sometimes they demand moral action. And Madison’s solution was to build a system that could safely absorb those moments, delay them, and ultimately overrule them in favor of what elites deemed “long-term stability.”

The Senate was his ideal tool for this. A body originally appointed, not elected, with long terms and limited accountability, intended specifically to act as a brake on popular demands.

The Modern Senate, Presidency, and Gaza

Fast forward to the 21st century. When U.S. bombs fell on Gaza, killing tens of thousands of civilians, the American public erupted in protest:

Mass marches in major cities.

College campus occupations.

Polling data showing widespread opposition to continued military aid to Israel.

And yet — the U.S. government’s response followed Madison’s playbook to the letter:

Lip service about "concern for civilian casualties."

Deflection through procedural rhetoric.

Maintenance of military aid and diplomatic cover for Israel.

Media narratives to muddy public understanding.

Suppression and criminalization of protest movements.

Just as Madison intended, the U.S. political machine treated this moral emergency as an "irregular passion" — something to be managed, deflected, and ultimately ignored in favor of preserving elite geopolitical interests.

The System Always Worked This Way

This isn’t new. The U.S. system was designed from its inception to protect the property-owning class and its interests, whether that meant suppressing slave rebellions, breaking labor strikes, or ignoring calls for peace.

Madison wrote in Federalist No. 10:

"The most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property."

And the entire constitutional structure — from the Senate to the Electoral College to lifetime-appointed courts — was built to prevent the majority from redistributing power or wealth.

Conclusion: Gaza Wasn't an Exception — It Was a Case Study

What happened in Gaza, and the U.S. state’s cold indifference to mass death despite public outrage, was not a break from democratic ideals. It was a perfect example of what the American Republic was designed to do:

Maintain elite control.

Absorb and pacify dissent.

Use institutions to delay or defuse moral crises.

Act decisively in defense of property, empire, and power.

The tragedy is that the people who suffer most — in Gaza, in prisons, in minimum wage jobs — are trapped in a system explicitly designed to ignore them.

If There’s Hope…
Hope lies not in reforming a system that’s working exactly as intended, but in building something new. And that begins with understanding how the machine was built — and why.

"In a society under the forms of which the stronger faction can readily unite and oppress the weaker, anarchy may as truly be said to reign as in a state of nature." - James Madison, Federalist No. 51

“Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property...” - James Madison, Federalist No. 10

“The government ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority.” - James Madison at the constitutional convention on June 26, 1787

This is why reformism is nothing more than lofty idealism and wishful thinking — it relies on the ruling class to act against their own interests for your benefit, within a system rigged to protect their power. You are either an abolitionist, or you just want nicer people to oppress you.

The Federalist Papers on congress.gov

A study showing that congress opposes policies that the general public supports 70-82% of the time if wealthy citizens or lobbies don't support it. I'm not here for feelings or vibes-based politics, this is all 100% verifiable information.

A nice folk tune for you