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Faction
A group within an organisation (often within a political party) that has different goals than those of the party as a whole, and seeks to promote those goals. James Madison warned against what he saw as the dangers of factions when he defined the term: "A number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse or passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interest of the community." In modern political speech, faction does not necessarily have a negative connotation, however. It can mean simply subgroup, as in the moderate (or liberal, or conservative), faction in a political party.
- Part of Speech: noun
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- Industry/Domain: Politics
- Category: Political Science
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