Abstract
Broadly speaking, this paper tackles the questions "What is
liberty?" and "Is liberty good? And if so, why?" Considering the
innumerable understandings and defenses of liberty, this paper
limits its focus to Montesquieu's account of liberty in The
Spirit of the Laws. To summarize, liberty is roughly equivalent
to security and comes into being through the separation of powers,
the reformation of the criminal code, and the growth of commerce.
The need for security is rooted in man's primal fear of death:
Montesquieu's state of nature demonstrates that man is unique among
the animals in his foreknowledge of death and the fear that results
from this foreknowledge. Death inspires man at his core more than
any other passion, and man's fixation on death provides a means by
which one can rank regimes. In conclusion, liberty, understood as
security, is good in that it addresses man's defining passion, the
fear of his own death; that said, liberty cannot resolve the
problem of death, as the solution to this problem lies beyond the
reach of politics.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
What is Liberty? 2
The State of Nature and Man 9
Liberty Through the Constitution: The Separation of Powers 20
Liberty in its Relation with the Citizen 26
Commerce as the Guarantor of Liberal Mores 32
England and the Mores that Issue from the Liberal Regime 44
Alternative Regimes 52
The Role of Religion in the Liberal State 61
Conclusion 65
Works Cited 67
About this Honors Thesis
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