The spirit of commerce produces in the mind of man a certain sense of exact justice, which on the one hand opposes theft and on the other hand those moral virtues that forbid us to always adhere strictly to the rules of the private interest and lead us to neglect it for the benefit of others. This book deals with explicit laws, not unwritten cultural norms that can support the same goals. „Montesquieu believed that the hard architecture of political institutions might be enough to limit the encroachment of power – that the constitutional conception was reminiscent of a technical problem,“ as Levitsky and Ziblatt put it. [5] TRADE has some connection to forms of government. In a monarchy, it is usually based on luxury; And although it is also based on authentic desires, the principled vision with which it is exploited is to procure everything that can contribute to the pride, pleasure and capricious whims of the nation. In the republics, it is often based on oconomy. Their merchants, who keep an eye on all the nations of the earth, bring from one what the other desires. Thus, the republics of Tyre, Karthange, Athens, Marseille, Florence, Venice and Holland traded in trade. It is not my job to check whether the English really enjoy this freedom or not. As for my intention, suffice it to point out that it is determined by their laws; and I don`t inquire any more. Under the first, the prince or magistrate promulgates temporary or perpetual laws and amends or repeals those that have already been promulgated. In the second, he makes peace or war, sends or receives messages; establishes public safety and watches over invasions.
With the third, it punishes criminals or determines the disputes that arise between individuals. The latter we call the judiciary and the other simply the executive branch of the state. In short, a highly certain opinion about ownership of property in these states compels them to do everything. They flatter themselves with the hope of reaping great benefits from the smile of happiness, thinking that they are sure of what they have already acquired, and courageously expose it in order to acquire more; risk only the means to obtain. Again, if the legislature were still assembled, it could only be maintained by filling the seats of deceased members with new representatives; And in this case, once the legislature was corrupted, evil would be beyond cure. If different legislative bodies follow one another, people who have a bad opinion of what really sits can reasonably have some hopes for the next: but if it were always the same body, once corrupted, the people would no longer expect anything good from their laws; And, of course, they would become desperate or fall into a state of inertia. A second major theme of The Spirit of the Laws concerns political freedom and the best ways to preserve it. „Political freedom“ is Montesquieu`s concept of what we might call personal security today, especially in that it is provided by a system of reliable and moderate laws. He distinguishes this view of freedom from two other views of political freedom. The first is the idea that freedom consists of collective autonomy – that is, freedom and democracy are the same thing. The second is the idea that freedom is about being able to do what you want without restriction. Not only are the latter two not real political freedoms, he argues, but they can also be hostile to them.
But when the spirit of trade unites nations, it does not unite individuals in the same way. We see that in countries[2] where people move only by the spirit of trade, they act with all human virtues, all moral: the smallest things, those that humanity would demand, are done there or given there, only for money. If the executive did not have the right to stop the encroachments of the legislature, it would become despotic; For even if she could presume the authority she loved, she would soon destroy all other powers. Executive power should be in the hands of a monarch; For this branch of government, which has always needed shipping, is better managed by one than by many: while what depends on the legislative power is often better regulated by several than by a single person. What prompted you to seek the spirit of the law? Please let us know where you read or heard it (including the quote if possible). On the contrary, in Asia there is a submissive spirit that they could never get rid of, and it is impossible to find a single passage in all the stories of this country that discovers a freedom of mind; We will never see anything but the excess of slavery there. Any classification of the political system, according to Montesquieu, must be what he calls a „principle.“ This principle acts as a springboard or engine to motivate citizens` behaviour in a way that tends to support this regime and make it work smoothly. In his classification of political systems, Montesquieu defined three main types: republican, monarchical and despotic. How he defines them, republican political systems vary depending on the extent to which they extend civil rights – those that extend citizenship relatively widely are called democratic republics, while those that tightly restrict citizenship are called aristocratic republics. .