Federalism & Conflicts in Basic Values

The first two columns are taken from a table entitled "The Rationale for an Areal Division of Governmental Powers within the Modern Democratic State" on p. 32 of:

Ylvisaker, Paul. 1959. Some criteria for a "proper" areal division of governmental powers. Area and Power,A Theory of Local Government, Arthur Maass (Ed.). Glencoe, IL: The Free Press.
 

Basic Values

 

Advantages of Federalism

Problems of Federalism

LIBERTY

Constitutionalism, with a goodly admixture of laissez-faire

• providing more points of access 

• giving minorities governmental positions and power 

• keeping government close to its origins and officials within reach 

• providing a system of countervailing power 

• localize ills which may beset the body politic

• allowing "stable majorities" i.e. tyranny of a majority or other faction: Madison's concern, (for further information) 10th Federalist Paper
EQUALITY

Especially as embodied in it corollary of democracy and the axiom of wide-scale participation

• barrier to concentration of power 

• additional opportunities for participation 

• further assurance of responsiveness, flexibility, energy, collective wisdom, consent, and loyalty

• unequal distribution of resources across the sub-units of government
WELFARE

Service

• additional assurance that demands will be heard and needs will be served • inefficiencies due to scale and duplication 

• lack of capability (e.g. defense, monetary policy) if decentralization is extreme