Question

The Spirit of the Laws. When did he write this and why? What was his purpose? What was happening at the time that can provide insight into the motivations and perspective of the author?

Answer 1

According to Montesquieu, the executive power should be in the hands of a monarch, or asingle person, whereas the legislative power should be held by many people. This is becausethe executive branch of government, “which has always need of expedition,” is moreefficiently run by one person. The legislative branch, according to Montesquieu, is betterregulated when it is run by many people.What does Montesquieu say about the idea of the executive limiting the legislative power?How about the legislative limiting the executive power?Montesquieu believes that the executive power must limit the legislative power by regulatingthe time of convening and the duration of the assemblies, according to the circumstances. Onthe other hand, the legislative power can limit the executive power by examining the in whatmanner its laws have been executed.Who, according to Montesquieu, should comprise the army, and what role does he say thearmy should play?According to Montesquieu, the executive power should lead the army. However, to prevent theoppression of the people, he believed that there should be a standing army that has anallegiance to their officers and to the people they are duty-bound to protect. Montesquieu heldthe belief that the army should be comprised of men of action who are the embodiment of thespirit of the people, and who will use their courage as their strengthTo Montesquieu, what will ultimately cause the state to perish?Montesquieu believes that the state will perish because it will lose its liberty. He goes on topoint that Rome, Sparta and Carthage have perished; so why not the state? To Montesquieu,the state will perish when the legislative power is more corrupted than the executive powe