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"Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interests of the man must be linked to the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government, but what is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on the government would be necessary. In framing a government to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is no doubt the primary control on the government, but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions."
-- James Madison, THE FEDERALIST No. 51.
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There, don't you feel better?
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