Rousseau and Montesquieu: The Impact of Their Ideas on Government

Review of Enlightenment Ideas Enlightenment philosophers believed the goal of the government should be to promote material well-being and social justice  Material well-being: measured through income and wealth  Social justice: equal rights throughout all levels of society. Hobbes and Locke had both rejected the theory of Divine Right  Political authority came from the people in a social contract

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) – The Social Contract  Committed to individual freedom  People were happiest when alone  Believed society corrupted people’s natural goodness The only good government was one that was freely formed by the people.

Rousseau – On the Social Contract It would be guided by the “general will” or will of the majority The social contract was an agreement among free individuals to create a society and government People agree to give up their freedom for the common good

Rousseau – Compared to Locke Like Locke, he believed that legal government came from the consent of the people. Rousseau believed in a democracy with much more participation than Locke He argued that all people were equal and wanted to end titles of nobility

Rousseau – Impact of Ideas Ideas inspired many leaders of the French Revolution to overthrow the monarchy “General will” (direct democracy) would influence the U.S. Constitution  Public election of president and Congress

Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755) - The Spirit of the Laws Identified three types of governmental power Legislative, Executive, Judicial Separation of powers would keep any individual or group from gaining total control

Montesquieu – Separation of Powers Each branch would limit the power of the other branches to prevent absolute power  Led to the theory of Checks and Balances Favored a constitutional monarchy based on the British model

Montesquieu – Impact of Ideas France and Latin American nations used separation of powers in their new constitutions. Separation of powers and checks and balances became the basis of the U.S. Constitution.  Federal System of Government (national vs. state)

Old IdeasNew IdeasPhilosopher(s) The authority to rule came from God (Divine Right) Absolute Power Strong social hierarchy with no social mobility