Political Theory: Montesquieu and Rousseau (The Philosophes: Thinkers of the Enlightenment)

Video Description

https://www.tomrichey.net/enlightenment.html This segment on my lecture on the philosophes focuses on the political theories of Montesquieu and Rousseau. Montesquieu's classic work, The Spirit of the Laws, was highly influential in the framing of the United States Constitution. Using Roman and British models as inspiration, he advocated separation of powers and checks and balances in government. Rousseau was less concerned about how to organize a government than to guarantee that a government is legitimate. In The Social Contract, Rousseau outlined a blueprint for a government that would be responsive to the general will. The entire lecture is available on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfzs_X6OQBOznlWfKoL84BT5CML_RRomY