Madison embraced the charge: “But what is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?” The human will to power was the very reason that government was necessary. “If men were angels, no government would be necessary”—because men would not try to oppress one another. “If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary”—because the government would operate altruistically. In the real world, however, the challenge was to create “a government which is to be administered by men over men.”
