Montesquieu's Views of Democracy

In 1789, when the deputies of the National Assembly in France composed the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen," the goal was to establish once and for all "solemn declaration" of the "natural, inalienable and sacred rights of man (Hunt 77)." These rights, universal, immutable and self-evident, were intended to advance the cause of personal liberty and stem the tides of tyranny. In this, the National Assembly was applying the wisdom of the Enlightenment to concrete matters of governance, advancing the legacy of the philosophes that had flourished throughout the 18th century. One such political theorist was Baron de Montesquieu, whose seminal work The Spirit of the Laws lays out a canopy of human laws and social institutions and attempts to explain them. Montesquieu's thinking on matters of liberty, security and democracy are at once conducive and contradictory to the assertions enumerated in the Declaration.

To begin, Montesquieu understood that of the three forms of government republican, monarchical and despotic the republica

Related Essays

Views of the Law by Malcolm X & Dr. Martin Luther Kin, Jr. Three decades after their deaths, Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. still .... Chicago. Montesquieu, C. de S. (1956). The .... (1568 6 )

Concepts of Societal Development .... from a systematic criticism of differing views of the .... philosophy was followed by those of Montesquieu, Rousseau, Burke .... In Hauerwas, S., & MacIntyre A. (Eds.). .... (5070 20 )

HUMAN RIGHTS AS UNIVERSAL RIGHTS .... results from a systematic criticism of differing views of the .... political philosophy was followed by those of Montesquieu, Rousseau, Burke .... Santos, B. de S. (1995 .... (5106 20 )

The Presidential Cabinet of the Federal Government .... philosophy was followed by those of Montesquieu, Rousseau, Burke .... For such views, Williams was labeled as a .... When Harry S. Truman became president in 1945, there .... (9981 40 )

The True and Only Heaven: Progress and Its Critics by Christopher .... larger thesis in terms of the many views on the .... Lasch included was Martin Luther King Jr.'s attempt to .... line of thought from Rousseau and Montesquieu to Thomas .... (7360 29 )

Category: Government - M