Montesquieu on Tyranny and the Corruption of Government

Montesquieu’s analysis of tyranny and the corruption of government, developed in The Spirit of the Laws (1748), is one of the most important contributions of the Enlightenment to the modern theory of political decay. Montesquieu argues that each form of government is animated by its own principle, and that the corruption of a government is the loss of its proper principle. This article examines Montesquieu’s analysis of tyranny, his account of the causes of political decay, and the conditions of political liberty.

The Three Forms of Government

Montesquieu distinguishes among three main kinds of government: republican, monarchical, and despotic. Each form is animated by its own principle, and the proper functioning of each requires the cultivation of its proper principle.

Republican government is government in which the people as a whole, or a part of the people, have the sovereign power. The principle of republican government is virtue — the love of the public good and the willingness to subordinate private interests to the common good.

Monarchical government in Montesquieu’s typology governs by fixed and established laws, and its proper principle is honor — the sense of personal dignity that animates the intermediate ranks of society. The corruption of monarchy, as examined in Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws, is one of the routes by which tyranny can arise.

Despotic government in Montesquieu’s typology governs by caprice rather than by law, and its proper principle is fear — the terror that the ruler inspires in his subjects. The corruption of despotism, as Montesquieu analyzes it in The Spirit of the Laws, is the most extreme form of tyranny, and the analysis of this corruption is one of the most important parts of Montesquieu’s theory.

Each form of government can be good or bad, depending on whether it is animated by its proper principle. A republic corrupted by the loss of virtue becomes a faction-ridden oligarchy; a monarchy corrupted by the loss of honor becomes a despotism; a despotism corrupted by the loss of fear becomes a tyranny.

The Nature of Tyranny

Tyranny, for Montesquieu, is the corruption of government. It arises when the proper principle of a government is lost, and the government is animated by the wrong principle.

Tyranny can arise in any form of government. A republic that is corrupted by the loss of virtue becomes tyrannical, even if it is still formally a republic. A monarchy that is corrupted by the loss of honor becomes tyrannical, even if it is still formally a monarchy. A despotism that is corrupted by the loss of fear becomes especially tyrannical, because the despot has lost the only principle that was holding his system together.

The most extreme form of tyranny is the despotism that has lost its principle. In such a government, the ruler rules by caprice and terror, the laws are arbitrary and unpredictable, and the people are reduced to a condition of servitude.

The Causes of Political Decay

Montesquieu identifies several causes of political decay.

The first cause is the loss of the proper principle of government. When a republic loses its virtue, when a monarchy loses its honor, or when a despotism loses its fear, the government is no longer animated by the principle that gave it life, and it begins to decay.

The second cause is the corruption of the political institutions. When the institutions of a government are corrupted — when the laws are not applied impartially, when the public offices are sold, when the administration of justice is perverted — the government loses its legitimacy, and the people begin to lose their respect for the government.

The third cause is the luxury and corruption of the citizens. When the citizens become more interested in their private interests than in the public good, when they become accustomed to luxury and idleness, and when they lose the virtues that are necessary for the proper functioning of the political life, the government begins to decay.

The fourth cause is the military expansion of the state. When a state expands beyond its proper boundaries, it becomes difficult to govern, and the government begins to decay. The proper response to the military expansion, for Montesquieu, is the establishment of a federation of states, in which each state can maintain its proper government.

The Conditions of Political Liberty

The proper response to the threat of tyranny, for Montesquieu, is the establishment of the conditions of political liberty. These conditions include the proper distribution of power, the proper respect for the laws, and the proper cultivation of the virtues that are necessary for the functioning of the political life.

The proper distribution of power is the most important condition. The proper distribution requires the separation of powers, in which the legislative, executive, and judicial powers are distributed among different bodies, each of which checks the others. The separation of powers is, in Montesquieu’s view, the most effective institutional mechanism for the prevention of tyranny.

The proper respect for the laws is the second condition. The proper laws are those that are known, general, and applied impartially. The laws that are not known, that are particular, or that are applied partially are, in Montesquieu’s view, instruments of tyranny rather than of liberty.

The proper cultivation of the virtues is the third condition. The virtues that are necessary for the proper functioning of the political life are not, for Montesquieu, the Christian virtues or the metaphysical virtues; they are the civic virtues — the love of the public good, the willingness to subordinate private interests to the common good, and the respect for the laws and institutions of the political community.

The Lasting Influence

Montesquieu’s analysis of tyranny and the corruption of government has had a profound influence on the development of modern political thought. The American founders, especially Madison, drew directly on Montesquieu’s analysis in their arguments for the Constitution. The contemporary defenders of constitutional government and the rule of law have built on Montesquieu’s pioneering work.

Further Reading

• The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (plato.stanford.edu), relevant entry
• The Cambridge Companion to [Thinker] (Cambridge University Press)
• Isaiah Berlin, Four Essays on Liberty (1969)