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Single Idea 20003

[filed under theme 25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 1. Slavery ]

Full Idea

What civil law could prevent a slave from running away? Since he is not a member of society, why should the laws of society concern him?

Gist of Idea

Slaves are not members of the society, so no law can forbid them to run away

Source

Baron de Montesquieu (The Spirit of the Laws (rev. 1757) [1748], 15.02)

Book Ref

Montesquieu,Baron de: 'Selected Political Writings', ed/tr. Richter,Melvin [Hackett 1990], p.202

A Reaction

Hm. Does this apply to children, who can't vote or stand for office?

The 56 ideas from 'The Spirit of the Laws (rev. 1757)'

19956 True goodness is political, and consists of love of and submission to the laws [Montesquieu]
19957 Teaching is the best practice of the general virtue that leads us to love everyone [Montesquieu]
19958 Laws are the necessary relations that derive from the nature of things [Montesquieu]
19959 Prior to positive laws there is natural equity, of obedience, gratitude, dependence and merit [Montesquieu]
19960 Sensation gives animals natural laws, but knowledge can make them break them [Montesquieu]
19962 Men do not desire to subjugate one another; domination is a complex and advanced idea [Montesquieu]
19961 Primitive people would be too vulnerable and timid to attack anyone, so peace would reign [Montesquieu]
19963 People are drawn into society by needs, shared fears, pleasure, and knowledge [Montesquieu]
19964 The natural power of a father suggests rule by one person, but that authority can be spread [Montesquieu]
19967 In a democracy the people should manage themselves, and only delegate what they can't do [Montesquieu]
19966 A democratic assembly must have a fixed number, to see whether everyone has spoken [Montesquieu]
19965 The fundamental laws of a democracy decide who can vote [Montesquieu]
19968 It is basic to a democracy that the people themselves must name their ministers [Montesquieu]
19969 Voting should be public, so the lower classes can be influenced by the example of notable people [Montesquieu]
19971 Aristocracy is democratic if they resemble the people, but not if they resemble the monarch [Montesquieu]
19970 If the nobility is numerous, the senate is the artistocracy, and the nobles are a democracy [Montesquieu]
19972 The nobility are an indispensable part of a monarchy [Montesquieu]
19974 Monarchs must not just have links to the people; they need a body which maintains the laws [Montesquieu]
19973 The clergy are essential to a monarchy, but dangerous in a republic [Montesquieu]
19975 Despots are always lazy and ignorant, so they always delegate their power to a vizier [Montesquieu]
19976 Ambition is good in a monarchy, because the monarch can always restrain it [Montesquieu]
19977 Despotism and honour are incompatible, because honour scorns his power, and lives by rules [Montesquieu]
19978 In monarchies, men's actions are judged by their grand appearance, not their virtues [Montesquieu]
19979 In monarchies education ennobles people, and in despotisms it debases them [Montesquieu]
19980 If a government is to be preserved, it must first be loved [Montesquieu]
19981 No one even thinks of equality in monarchies and despotism; they all want superiority [Montesquieu]
19982 Some equality can be achieved by social categories, combined with taxes and poor relief [Montesquieu]
19983 Democracies may sometimes need to restrict equality [Montesquieu]
19984 Great inequality between aristocrats and the rest is bad - and also among aristocrats themselves [Montesquieu]
19985 In a monarchy, the nobility must be hereditary, to bind them together [Montesquieu]
19986 Monarchies can act more quickly, because one person is in charge [Montesquieu]
19987 Religion has the most influence in despotic states, and reinforces veneration for the ruler [Montesquieu]
19988 A despot's agents must be given power, so they inevitably become corrupt [Montesquieu]
19989 The will of a despot is an enigma, so magistrates can only follow their own will [Montesquieu]
19990 Democracy is corrupted by lack of equality, or by extreme equality (between rulers and ruled) [Montesquieu]
19991 Equality is not command by everyone or no one, but command and obedience among equals [Montesquieu]
19993 In small republics citizens identify with the public good, and abuses are fewer [Montesquieu]
19992 In a large republic there is too much wealth for individuals to manage it [Montesquieu]
19994 Freedom in society is ability to do what is right, and not having to do what is wrong [Montesquieu]
19995 All states aim at preservation, and then have distinctive individual purposes [Montesquieu]
19999 All citizens (apart from the very humble poor) should choose their representatives [Montesquieu]
19998 If deputies represent people, they are accountable, but less so if they represent places [Montesquieu]
19996 A government has a legislature, an international executive, and a domestic executive [Montesquieu]
19997 The judiciary must be separate from the legislature, to avoid arbitrary power [Montesquieu]
20000 Slavery is entirely bad; the master abandons the virtues, and they are pointless in the slave [Montesquieu]
20003 Slaves are not members of the society, so no law can forbid them to run away [Montesquieu]
20002 The death penalty is permissible, because its victims enjoyed the protection of that law [Montesquieu]
20001 The only right victors have over captives is the protection of the former [Montesquieu]
20004 French slavery was accepted because it was the best method of religious conversion [Montesquieu]
20006 The demand for slavery is just the masters' demand for luxury [Montesquieu]
20005 The rich would never submit to a lottery deciding which part of their society should be slaves [Montesquieu]
20007 Tyranny is either real violence, or the imposition of unpopular legislation [Montesquieu]
20008 People are guided by a multitude of influences, from which the spirit of a nation emerges [Montesquieu]
20009 Freedom of speech and writing, within the law, is essential to preserve liberty [Montesquieu]
20010 If religion teaches determinism, penalties must be severe; if free will, then that is different [Montesquieu]
20011 Religion can support the state when the law fails to do so [Montesquieu]