As for republican government, Montesquieu asserts that "in a popular
state there must be an additional spring, which is VIRTUE. What I say is
confirmed by the entire body of history and is quite in conformity with
the nature of things. For it is clear that less virtue is needed in a
monarchy, where the one who sees
to the execution of the laws judges himself above the laws, than in a
popular government, where the one who sees to the execution of the laws
feels that he is subject to them himself and that he will bear their
weight.. . . But in a popular government when the laws have ceased to be
executed, as this can come only from the corruption of the republic,
the state is already lost" (1, 3, 3). In despotic government, "virtue is
not at all necessary to it. . .." (1, 3, 8) Montesquieu saw despotism,
including its frequent antecedent, anarchy, as a continuing threat to
republican government. "When that virtue ceases, ambition enters those
hearts that can
admit it, and avarice enters them all. Desires change their objects:
that which one used to love, one loves no longer. One was free under the
laws, one wants to be free against them. Each citizen is like a slave
who has escaped from his master's house. What was a maxim is now called
severity; what was a rule is now called constraint; what was vigilance
is now called fear. There, frugality, not the desire to possess, is
avarice. Formerly the goods of individuals made up the public treasury;
the public treasury has now become
the patrimony of individuals. The republic is a cast-off husk, and its
strength is no more than the power of a few citizens and the license of
all" (1,3, 3).
Montesquieu considered excessive taxation and the confiscation of private property an assault on equality—
that is, the individual's liberty and rights. Montesquieu's view of equality, therefore, is consistent with Locke's.
Montesquieu also viewed commerce as essential to the character of
republican government. "[T]he spirit of commerce brings with it the
spirit of frugality, economy, moderation, work, wisdom, tranquility,
order, and rule...." (1, 5, 6) Furthermore, commerce helps promote
republican mores in other countries. "Commerce
cures destructive prejudices, and it is an almost general rule that
everywhere there are gentle mores, there is commerce and that everywhere
there is commerce, there are gentle mores. . .." (4, 20,1) Commerce
also encourages prosperity. "In short, one's belief that one's
prosperity is more certain in these states makes one undertake
everything, and because one believes that what one has acquired is
secure, one dares to expose it in order to acquire more; only the means
for acquisition are at risk; now, men expect much
of their fortune. . .."
Thus, just as destructive nations do evil things that last longer than themselves, there
are industrious nations that do good things that do not end with
themselves" (3, 18, 7). Montesquieu, like Locke, explained that
commerce, industriousness, and laws that inspire them require a moderate
or republican government, which, in combination, preserve and improve
the society. Alternatively, "Every lazy nation is grave; for those who
do not work regard themselves as sovereigns of those who work" (3,19,9).
"The government should not force a way upon the people against their
will, for to do so is tyranny by legislation. There are two sorts of
tyranny: a real one, which consists in the violence of the government,
and one of opinion, which is felt when those who govern establish things
that run counter to a nation's way of
thinking" (3,19,3). • It is essential, therefore, that in republican
government, representatives avoid efforts intended to change the general
spirit of the nation—that is, the legislator must help preserve and
pro-
tect society, not eradicate it. As if describing the American people,
Montesquieu wrote, "If there were in the world a nation which had a
sociable humor, an openness of heart, a joy of life, a taste, an ease in
communicating its thoughts; which was lively, pleasant, playful,
sometimes imprudent, often indiscreet; and which had with all that,
courage, generosity, frankness, and a certain point of honor, one should
avoid disturbing its manners by laws, in order not to disturb its
virtues. If the character is generally good, what
difference do a few faults make?...
From this it follows that when one wants to change the mores and
manners, one must not change them by laws, as this would appear to be
too tyrannical; it would be better to change them by other mores
and other manners" (3,19,9). • Montesquieu argues that government should
not attempt to correct or control all things and intervene in all
matters. Government should be limited in its power, scope, and purposes.
"May
we be left as we are, said a gentleman of [a republican government].
Nature repairs everything. It has given us a vivacity capable of
offending and one apt to make inconsiderate; this same vivacity is
corrected by the politeness it brings us, by inspiring us with a taste
for the world. ... May we be left as we are. Our discretions joined to
our harmlessness make unsuitable such laws as would curb our social
humor" (3,19,6).
Laws should reflect the uniqueness of societies. "[Laws] should be
related to the physical aspect of the country; to the climate, be it
freezing, torrid, or temperate; to the properties of the terrain, its
location and extent; to the way of life of the peoples, be they plowmen,
hunters, or herdsmen; they should relate to the
degree of liberty that the constitution can sustain, to the religion of
the inhabitants, their inclinations, their wealth, their number, their
commerce, their mores, and their manners; finally, the laws are related
to one another, to their origin, to the purpose of the legislator, and
to the order of things on which they are established. They must be
considered from all these points of view" (1, 1,3).
Clearly, Montesquieu argued that foreign governmental systems and laws
do not necessarily serve the best interests of other countries, and he
would object to their application by American jurists
to interpreting the U.S. Constitution.
Montesquieu's concern is with the imprudence, and worse, the danger of
republican government attempting to transform the civil
society—including superseding the effects of religion, family, commerce,
traditions, customs, mores, etc.—through legal coercion.
Montesquieu's concern is with the imprudence, and worse, the danger of
republican government attempting to transform the civil
society—including superseding the effects of religion, family, commerce,
traditions, customs, mores, etc.—through legal coercion.
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