Liberty

 Micah Weinstock

IHSS
Mr. Roddy

2/8/2021

Liberty


There is an interesting view on what really constitutes liberty within this passage. He is arguing that while true liberty is dangerous as everyone has liberty to harm each other, a better system for liberty would be one in which there are rules to protect physical safety. The pretty inclusive quote of what they believe to be ideal liberty is, “Thus, for instance, the laws should not concern offenses against God, since He does not require their protection. They should not prohibit what they do not need to prohibit: "all punishment which is not derived from necessity is tyrannical. The law is not a mere act of power; things in their own nature indifferent are not within its province" (SL 19.14). The laws should be constructed to make it as easy as possible for citizens to protect themselves from punishment by not committing crimes. They should not be vague, since if they were, we might never be sure whether or not some particular action was a crime. Nor should they prohibit things we might do inadvertently, like bumping into a statue of the emperor, or involuntarily, like doubting the wisdom of one of his decrees; if such actions were crimes, no amount of effort to abide by the laws of our country would justify confidence that we would succeed, and therefore we could never feel safe from criminal prosecution. Finally, the laws should make it as easy as possible for an innocent person to prove his or her innocence.” Overall, what they are fighting for is a liberal utopia, as Montesquieu is noted to be a philosopher of liberalism. He has very strong beliefs relating to separation of powers and how a government should run in general. This passage was a very good read as it exposes one to each breakdown to parts of society.

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