"Liberty"

Everest Leo

Mr. Roddy

IHSS

6 February 2021

"Liberty"

    Liberty and freedom are very often used interchangeably in context for free will of the people within a state. As many of us know, liberty and freedom are not interchangeable and within an external political background, this stays the same. I think the way that Montesquieu presents political liberty is very elegant, but like most things in this world is flawed. I agree that there needs to be checks and balances and that total freedom allowing the people to do whatever could result in lots of violence. I agree that laws should not be extensive or ambiguous for the sake of difficult judging and inconsistent legislation. In general, Montesquieu's definition is rather short and efficient, but a place where I do not agree with him is how he would ideally deal with criminals. He says that "the laws should make it as easy as possible for an innocent person to prove his or her innocence." I find this rather unsettling as it runs on the basis that people will not try to exploit the system. It seems as Montesquieu doesn't see enough evil in people to think a stricter system necessary. 

    Now, I am aware that making the regulation and enforcement of laws stricter is technically against true liberty, it could also lead to more criminals being deemed innocent, therefore putting the safety of others at risk, something else that does not align with true liberty. I know this was written in a different time, and overall it has merit, but following old definitions regarding a system that is constantly changing could lead to unexpected consequences.

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