Montesqieu

Montesqieu by William Federer

The French political philosopher was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson (who translated a commentary on his thought from the French). His ideas about governance were formative for Jefferson and others who formed our nation.

Montesquieu divided governments into three categories: republics, which rely on moral virtue; monarchs, which rely on honor and shame; and despots, which rely on pleasure and fear.

In his view, citizens in a republic typically act as co-kings in society, remembering that they will be held individually accountable to God and behaving morally and virtuously as a result.

Monarchs working within a Christian worldview (such as the British monarchy in Montesquieu’s day) exercise unilateral authority but remember that they are accountable to the King of kings in the next life.

Despots, however, rule without reference to the biblical worldview and thus reward their supporters with pleasure while dominating their other subjects through fear.

According to Montesquieu, once virtue is gone in a republic, its society will become lawless. To restrain such impulses, he introduced the novel concept of separating powers into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Each by itself could become despotic, but the others serve to check such power.

This “separation of powers” became a foundational feature of America’s governance.

But the greatest force for good, according to Montesquieu, is the gospel. He said: “I have always respected religion; the morality of the Gospel is the noblest gift ever bestowed by God on man.”

He believed that “the principles of Christianity, deeply engraved on the heart, would be infinitely more powerful than the false Honor of Monarchies, than the humane Virtues of Republics, or the servile Fear of Despotic states.”