more from this thinker     |     more from this text


Single Idea 19827

[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / C. Ruling a State / 3. Government / a. Government ]

Full Idea

It is not good for the one who makes the laws to execute them.

Gist of Idea

Law makers and law implementers should be separate

Source

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (The Social Contract (tr Cress) [1762], III.04)

Book Ref

Rousseau,Jean-Jacques: 'The Basic Political Writings', ed/tr. Cress,Donald A. [Hackett 1987], p.179


A Reaction

He doesn't give his reasons here, but this piece of wisdom is widely supported. There is a problem when the executive find themselves trying to enforce bad, discredited laws. Maybe the police know best what the law should say? Or not!


The 11 ideas with the same theme [group who control a society]:

People are hard to govern because authorities love to do things [Laozi (Lao Tzu)]
If a government is to be preserved, it must first be loved [Montesquieu]
A government has a legislature, an international executive, and a domestic executive [Montesquieu]
Society prefers helpful lies to harmful truth [Hume]
The state has a legislature and an executive, just like the will and physical power in a person [Rousseau]
Law makers and law implementers should be separate [Rousseau]
Individuals often do things better than governments [Mill]
People govern for the pleasure of it, or just to avoid being governed [Nietzsche]
What is the function of a parliament? Does it even constitute a part of the State structure? [Gramsci]
The big question of the Renaissance was how to govern everything, from the state to children [Foucault]
'Separation of powers' allows legislative, executive and judicial functions to monitor one another [Wolff,J]