The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

Federal  Convention  of  1787:  “The  only  remedy  [for  the  risk  of

oppression by a majority] is to enlarge the sphere, and thereby

divide  the  community  into  so  great  a  number  of  interests  and

parties, that, in the  rst place, a majority will not be likely, at

the same moment, to have a common interest separate from that

---

of the whole, or of the minority; and in the second place, that in

case they should have such an interest, they may not be so apt to

unite  in  the  pursuit  of  it.”  The  Founders  were  talking  about

political  factions  which  rarely  rise  to  the  cohesion  of  hives.

Nonetheless, they envisioned a nation whose strength came from

people’s  commitment  to  local  groups  and  institutions,  in  line

with Putnam’s (2000) analysis of social capital.

61.

 Putnam 2000, p. 209.