Enlightenment Political Philosophers

After the Dark Ages of Medieval Europe, new discoveries were being made in a range of differing disciplines. Art, science, math, technology, finance and other areas of study were beginning to make advancements. Political science was not the exception. Thinkers from this era contributed largely to the framework in which we govern ourselves today. These modern political philosophers distributed their ideas throughout Europe, and later, the British North American Thirteen Colonies. As a result, people became educated about better courses of action in relation to government. Eventually, these modern political ideologies influenced revolutions, both peaceful and violent, and lay the basis for the governments found throughout the western world today.

Baron de Montesquieu was a French political philosopher that advocated a government system that separated its powers. Since France had some negative experiences with absolute monarchs during its past, Montesquieu's views on government were widely accepted. French citizens did not have the opportunity to redress grievances, participate in legislative decision making, and were all but ignored by its rulers. Consequently, the idea of separating power took root and flourished among the educated classes of French citizens.

Montesquieu's ideas did not remain in France. His works were translated and were highly popular among statesmen in the British North American Thirteen Colonies. The founding members of the United States Constitution used Montesquieu's views to create a government that could not abuse its citizens. By separating three distinct governmental powers, the United States has had unprecedented success with its governmental organization. The three main bodies of government are the legislative, executive and judicial. Each branch of the government serves as a check and balance against the others, thus eliminating the possibility for a usurpation of power or abuse of the citizens.


John Locke was an Englishman who similarly produced works about the purpose and structure of government. Locke argues in his Two Treatises on Government that the sole purpose of government is to protect the natural rights of citizens. According to Locke, people are endowed  with three natural rights. These rights are life, liberty, and property. As a citizen of the United States the government ensures our right to life. It is illegal to take another person's life because it is their natural right to exist. In addition, citizens are prevented from imprisoning others without a just cause. The government protects your natural right to liberty within the scope of the law. Finally, Locke argues that the government should protect our natural right to accumulate property (Though Jefferson would redefine this as "pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence to avoid the issue of regarding African-American slaves as property). Thus, it is a natural right for citizens to earn and toil to accumulate wealth and happiness. These natural rights are the basis for which the United States was formed in opposition to the English Constitutional Monarchy.


Jean-Jacques Rousseau was another Frenchmen who produced works relating to government. According to Rousseau, there existed a social contract which existed between governments and its citizens. Since governments are instituted among people, to serve the people, then Rousseau's belief was that abuse of governmental power was a nullification of the social contract. In other words, if a government was abusive of its citizens, then its half of the contract was void, hence making the authority of that government non-existent. Governments should exist based solely on the consent of the governed.






William Blackstone wrote a treatise titled Commentaries on the Laws of England. His work was similarly influential in political discourse of the time. In his treatise, Blackstone argues that laws should be clearly codified and rational so that the application of law is equal and just. During his time period, laws in England, and around the world for that matter, were routinely circumvented to benefit the advantaged or wealthy. The result of this study gave the founding fathers of the United States Constitution the rationale for writing laws so that the meaning and application is just and fair to all members of the citizenry.

Since all of the previously discussed political authors advocated a form of just democratic rule in one form or another, there is something to be said about the dangers of a purely democratic society. James Madison, one of the founding fathers of the United States Constitution, wrote Federalist Paper No. 10 in an effort to demonstrate the difficulties associated with a democratic country without legal protections. In his work, Madison discusses the risk of factionalism. According to Madison factionalism occurs when majority groups legally inflict abuse upon minorities through the use of the vote and other democratic means. Madison's views helped the founding fathers pave the way for the creation of a "Bill of Rights" that protected minority rights from factionalism and abuse of power by a majority rule.