[学术讨论帖]论法的精神

xizhang01

《论法的精神》孟德斯鸠声称“在一个君主政体的国家人保持道德高尚是非常困难的”
。幸运的是，君主制可以 “以最小的道德取得伟大的成果”。

为什么孟德斯鸠认为，如果没有人实践美德，政治体系也可以使蓬勃发展？你可以举出
一个体系运作是基于体系中的人不实践美德的么？ （可以不是一个政治体系。）

In Book III, chapter 5 of the Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu claims “that
in a monarchy it is extremely difficult for the people to be virtuous”.
Fortunately, a monarchy could achieve “great things with as little virtue
as possible”.


Why did Montesquieu think a political system could so flourish if no one
practiced virtue? Can you think of any other institutions that operate on
the assumption that the individuals participating in the institution will
not behave virtuously? (The institution you propose need not be a political
institution.)