Before Montesquieu, the standard feudal system was called "the three estates":
Montesquieu's work divided French people into three classes: three classes (or trias politica, a term he coined):
- the monarchy
- the aristocracy
- the commons
These should be balanced, so that no one power would be able to overcome the other two, either singly or in combination. This was a radical idea because it eliminated the three estates structure. Montesquieu's ideas are important because they ended thefeudalistic structure. They also helped inspire the constitution of many countries, including theUnited States.
Some of Montesquieu's ideas are still controversial. He believed that women could be leaders in government. But he thought women could not lead a family. Montesquieu argued that hereditary aristocracy was suitable for monarchy, in the sense that it provided a link between the people and the monarch. However, he opposed a hereditary aristocracy under aristocracy, arguing that it would prevent the nobles from exhibiting the necessary moderation on which aristocracy relies.
Montesquieu describes an unusual idea in his essaysThe Spirit of the Laws andPersian Letters. This idea is the climate theory. It says thatclimate, the weather of a place, influences the nature of man and hissociety. Montesquieu believed that some climates were better than others. He believed the mild climate of France is the best since it was the perfect temprature, making perfect individuals. He believed people from hot countries are "too hot-tempered". People in cold, northern countries are "icy" or "stiff." The climate in middle Europe therefore breeds the best people. (This view is possibly influenced by similar statements inGermania byTacitus, one of Montesquieu's favourite authors.)
Montesquieu's philosophy that "government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another" prompted the creators of the Constitution to divide the U.S. government into three separate branches.
