Moderation and the Balance of Power: La Bruyere, Montesquieu and de Toqueville

FAIN: FT-12052-74

Anne M. Cohler
University of Chicago (Chicago, IL 60637-5418)

To investigate into the reasons behind Montesquieu's notion of balancing powers. Taking as a starting point the problems presented to the traditional classification of politics by the number of rulers by the complex division of the French monarchy into ranks and order so that the duties of a citizen were dispersed among many kinds of men. A question which will be dealt with is whether the moderation Montesquieu saw resulting from such divisions bear some relationship to a notion of justice, and if so, what is contained in that notion. La Bruyere will be considered as a predecessor and de Toqueville as a successor, both of whom were interested in very similar problems.