What is political liberty?

Translation: quotations from Montesquieu are quoted in Thomas Nugent's 1750 English translation; quoted in the anonymous 1777 English translation of the London Complete Works, not his original words.

1. WHAT HE SAID (the record)

Record ledger

• BELIEF (undated; quoted in Thomas Nugent's 1750 English translation): Montesquieu believed political liberty is 'a tranquillity of mind arising from the opinion each person has of his safety,' which requires a government structured so that no individual fears another. He argues this is achieved by separating the legislative, executive, and judiciary powers. (key quote above) [1]
• BELIEF (undated; quoted in Thomas Nugent's 1750 English translation): Montesquieu believes political liberty, as relative to the subject, consists in security or the opinion people have of their security. He argues that the subject may be free even if the constitution is not, and vice versa. [2]
• BELIEF (undated; quoted in Thomas Nugent's 1750 English translation): Montesquieu distinguishes between laws that establish political liberty as it relates to the constitution and those that establish it as it relates to the citizen. He believes political liberty is established by laws, and he focuses on the former in this book. [3]
• BELIEF (undated; quoted in Thomas Nugent's 1750 English translation): Montesquieu believed political liberty consists in security, or at least in the opinion that we enjoy security. This is based on his argument that political liberty is distinct from philosophical liberty and is primarily concerned with the subject's sense of security. (key quote above) [4]
• BELIEF (undated; quoted in the anonymous 1777 English translation of the London Complete Works): Political liberty, according to the passage, consists in the security a citizen feels under the protection of the laws, such that no citizen fears another. This is grounded on the nature and proportion of punishments, which either establish or destroy this liberty. "Political liberty, considered with relation to a citizen, consists in that security in which he lives under shelter of the laws; or at least in an opinion of this security which makes no one citizen entertain any fear of another." [5]

What cuts against it

• BELIEF (undated; quoted in Thomas Nugent's 1750 English translation): Montesquieu also acknowledges that political liberty may not always be found in moderate governments, and that even the highest refinement of reason is not always desirable. He suggests that mankind generally finds their account better in mediums than in extremes. "Neither do I pretend by this to undervalue other governments, nor to say that this extreme political liberty ought to give uneasiness to those who have only a moderate share of it." [3]

• ACTION (undated; quoted in Thomas Nugent's 1750 English translation): Montesquieu notes that in moderate governments, it is a point of the highest importance that there should not be a great number of slaves, as the political liberty of those states adds to the value of civil liberty. "But, in moderate governments, it is a point of the highest importance that there should not be a great number of slaves." [6]

• ACTION (undated; quoted in Thomas Nugent's 1750 English translation): Montesquieu describes the potential for tyranny in the use of bills of attainder, which can suspend the use of liberty for a single person to preserve it for the whole community. "IN countries where liberty is most esteemed there are laws by which a single person is deprived of it, in order to preserve it for the whole community." [2]

• ACTION (undated; quoted in Thomas Nugent's 1750 English translation): Montesquieu notes that in some monarchies, the aim is not liberty but the glory of the subject, the state, and the sovereign, yet this can still result in a spirit of liberty. "THE monarchies we are acquainted with have not, like that we have been speaking of, liberty for their direct view: the only aim is the glory of the subject, of the state, and of the sovereign." [3]

2. HOW IT APPLIES (reasoning; inference is marked)

1. Montesquieu defines political liberty as a tranquillity of mind arising from the opinion of safety. [1]

2. He distinguishes political liberty from philosophical liberty, emphasizing that it is not about unlimited freedom but about the right to do what the laws permit. [7]

3. Political liberty is secured by the separation of powers, ensuring no individual fears another. [1]

4. The nature and proportion of punishments are crucial to maintaining political liberty, as they either establish or destroy it. [5]

5. In moderate governments, political liberty is most perfected when there is no abuse of power, and power is a check to power. [7] (Inference)

3. HIS TAKE

Record coverage: DIRECT

Extrapolation: Montesquieu believed political liberty is the right to do what the laws permit, with a sense of security arising from the structure of government that prevents abuse of power. It is not found in unlimited freedom but in the balance of powers and the rule of law.

Competing readings: One reading is that political liberty is most perfected in moderate governments where power is checked. Another is that it is not always desirable to pursue extreme liberty, and that mediums are often better for human happiness. The record supports both readings.

Confidence: High, based on direct statements and consistent themes across multiple passages.