The Hybrid Representation And Negative Freedom In Anti-federalists’ Political Thoughts

In the process of debating with federalists, anti-federalists tender hybrid representation. Hybrid representation tends to elect the middle class who are both committed to electors’interests and provident into parliament, thus absorbing the advantages of virtual representation and actual representation, as well as avoiding their disadvantages. Hybrid representation aims at keeping parliament from corrupting, but its effects will be impaired by the regulations about mercenary and the power of imposing. Therefore, anti-federalists do their best to castigate the1787Constitution. Only in the space of few and homogenous people, can representation be taken into practice. That’s why anti-federalists insist on small republic.Hybrid representation means more people will participate in political decisions, on which Republican School bases their conclusion and regards anti-federalists as republicans. BGernard Bailyn, J.G.A. Pocock and Gordon S. Wood separately classify their theory into the categories of antithesis between power and freedom, classical republicanism and civic humanism. They are far from consistent in explaining republicanism, but all question existing historians’assertion that anti-federalists have inherited Locke’s negative freedom.Republican School builds their interpretation of anti-federalists on ossified logic, that is, the cause and effect between real estate and independent personality, independent personality and positive freedom. Through the inspection to positive freedom and the transmission spectrum of negative freedom, this paper makes clear that there’s no necessary connection between independent personality and positive freedom, what anti-federalists believe in is Locke’s negative freedom, and the interpretation made by Republic School is unsuccessful.Participatory Democracy takes positive freedom as its foundation, while Elite Democracy takes negative freedom as its foundation. Anti-federalists’political thoughts of upholding negative freedom through hybrid representation make great sense in tackling the disputation between Participatory Democracy and Elite Democracy.