orary political practices to conform with enduring values. James Madison's political philosophy and theory was both based in part on enduring values and sought to reform the political practices of the day.
Political philosophy is assumed to have had its beginnings in the Greek city-state. Because of the small size of these city-states, political deliberations could occur and political decisions could be made in face-to-face situations by all individuals concerned. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle provided the enduring values associated with the political philosophy developed in the Greek city-states. As the city states of Greece continued to develop, however, some influential individuals began to peruse the idea that political leadership required the acquisition of philosophical skills. This line of thought eventually developed into the idea that political leadership in a society should be composed of a relatively small enlightened and educated elite. These ideas were developed and supported by both Plato and Aristotle. Plato held that justice in a society occurs only when every member of that society does what he or she is best suited to do. Plato added that those best suited to rule were the philosophers. Madison was to hold much later that an electorate possessing sufficient intellectual capacity and virtue was necessary to assure that virtuous and capable political leaders were elected. This philosophy was consistent with Madison's desire to maintain an elitist control of the political process, as he did not consider the mass of the population to possess the characteristics necessary to make effective political decisions.
Similarly, Aristotle claimed the existence of a fundamental inequality between humans--between citizens and slaves. Among citizens, Aristotle also recognized an upper class, a middle class, and a lower class, and he viewed the middle class--merchants, craftsmen, and farmers--as the group in soc...