Diamond, Martin. "The Federalist." History of Political Philosophy (Third Edition). Edited by Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey. University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Excerpt:
Publius is aware that his scheme involves an enormous reliance on the ceaseless striving after immediate private gains; the commercial life must be made honorable and universally practiced. Publius counts on a portion of patriotism and wisdom in the people and especially in their representative rulers. But precisely in his discussion of separation of powers, that device for securing enlightened rulers, he returns to his primary emphasis. Enlightened though they may be, it is primarily their private passions and interests that render them useful to the public. In perhaps the most remarkable and revealing single sentence of the book, Publius speaks of “this policy of supplying, by opposite and rival interests, the defect of better motives, [which] might be traced through the whole system of human affairs, private as well as public.” To understand fully how Publius understands “the defect of better motives,” and how he seeks to make up for the defect by founding a regime in which the art of government is made commensurate with the capacity of men when their passions and interests are rightly arranged, is to understand Publius’ contribution to the new “science of politics” and to understand the American republic he had so large a hand in framing.