I can summarise in three sentences the political philosophy of Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). He outlined his political ideas in several essays, giving many historical examples, but the ideas themselves are straightforward. First, when good people govern, everything will be fine, irrespective of the political system. Second, even the very best political system can be abused by bad people. Third, since it is inevitable that, now and then, some bad people gain political power, abuses can be prevented or minimised by distributing power amongst various institutions. Like Aristotle had previously done in his work “Politics”, Montaigne passed review to the different political systems. He was aware of the advantages and disadvantages of democracy, monarchy and aristocracy, but failed to make a choice. In all political systems, argued Montaigne, one can find bad and good examples. For instance, during the Roman Empire, which is a variant of monarchy, we can find a few excellent rulers such as Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD). Marcus Aurelius was not perfect, but overall, he exercised power with a deep sense of morality. Instead of adopting a totalitarian attitude, he practised justice and moderation. He worked hard to run the empire effectively, instead of simply enjoying his own wealth. Montaigne acknowledged that good monarchs like Marcus Aurelius represent the exception, not the rule. History offers us plenty of examples of tyrannical kings and emperors. In ancient Rome, Nero (37-68 AD) was the archetypical bad emperor. He was arrogant, tyrannical and erratic. I categorise him as a psychopath. It is almost a miracle that someone like Marcus Aurelius became emperor a few generations later. What about democracy? Does it guarantee that only good people come to power? Montaigne remained sceptical, arguing that history provides few examples of excellent elected leaders such as Pericles (495-429 BC). Why did Montaigne regard Pericles as a rarity? Because Pericles possessed characteristics that seldom go together. On the one hand, he was honest, dedicated, and willing to promote the arts. On the other hand, he was sufficiently diplomatic and patient to navigate the complexities of Athenian politics. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/michel-de-montaigne-and-political-philosophy/

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