Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu

\n\n\nCharles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (January 18, 1689 - February 10, 1755) was a French political thinker who lived during the Enlightenment and was the first to articulate the theory of separation of powers, taken for granted in many modern discussions of governments and implemented in many constitutions the world over.

Biography

Born in 1689 at Chateau La Brède near Bordeaux, he was president of the parliament of Bordeaux by the age of twenty-seven, and shortly afterwards achieved literary success with the publication of his Lettres persanes (Persian Letters) (1721), a satire based on the imaginary correspondence of an Oriental visitor to Paris, pointing out the absurdities of contemporary society. He traveled widely, spending two years in England (1729-1731). He was troubled by poor eyesight, and was completely blind by the time of his death in 1755. His great work, De l'esprit des lois (Spirit of the Laws) (1748), was originally published anonymously and was enormously influential. Montesquieu's thought was a powerful influence on many of the American Founders, most notably James Madison. English translations remain in print to this day (Cambridge University Press edition: ISBN 0521369746).

Political views

Montesquieu argued that the aristocracy - which Voltaire would decry - protected the state from the absolutist despot (or monarchy) and from the despotism of the many (or anarchy). His was a purely political and rational defense, conveniently non-economic. Himself a member of the aristocracy, his motto was, "Liberty is the stepchild of privilege." This allowed him to defend the constitutional monarchy as he claimed it was governed by honor. Montesquieu argued that the monarchs could become too passionate and the commons were too big and too egalitarian to rule properly. Moreover, he portrayed the aristocracy as having and maintaining the honor that kept monarchies constitutional. But, he also warned that the aristocracy is doomed when it becomes self-interested, arrogant and parasitic. Montesquieu's most radical work divided the three French classes into checks and balances, (or trias politica) a term he coined, of three sovereignties; the monarchy, the aristocracy, and the commons. Montesquieu saw two types of powers existing; the sovereign and the administrative. The administrative powers were the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary. These powers were to be divided up amongst the three classes, which he referred to as Estates, so that each would have a power over the other. This was also radical because it completely eliminates the clergy from the estates and because it erased any last vestige of a feudalistic structure. Like many of his generation, Montesquieu held a number of views that we might judge as quaint or outdated. While he endorsed the idea that a woman could run a government, he held the idea that she couldn't be effective as the head of a family. He firmly accepted the role of a hereditary aristocracy and the value of primogeniture. He was honestly a Francophile, one who passionately loves all things French. His views have also been abused by modern revisionists. Montesquieu was ahead of his time as an ardent opponent of slavery in any context. But, he has been quoted out of context to make it appear that he supported enslaving Africans. One of his more exotic ideas, which is outlined in Spirit of Laws is the climate theory, which tells that climate should significantly influence the nature of man and the nature of his society. He even goes as far as to say that certain climates are superior to others: the temperate climate in France being the best of possible climates. His view is that people living in hot countries are "too hot-tempered" and the people of the northern countries are "icy" or "stiff". The climate in middle Europe thus breeds the best people. \n\nMontesquieu\nMontesquieu\nMontesquieu\n