Final answer:
Montesquieu, an 18th-century philosopher, proposed that liberty is having protection under the law while maintaining individual freedom. His ideas of political liberty and separation of powers influenced the Founding Fathers and modern democracy. Eternal vigilance by citizens is necessary to preserve liberty.
Step-by-step explanation:
“Liberty is the right of doing whatever the laws permit.” This statement by Montesquieu offers an insight into his ideas about the balance between freedom and the laws of a state. Montesquieu, an 18th-century French political philosopher, argued that liberty involves protection by the laws while retaining as much individual autonomy as possible. He stressed that only laws related to public safety were necessary, indicating his advocacy for limited government intervention in personal freedoms.
The concept of political liberty and the separation of powers were core principles expressed by Montesquieu in his work, The Spirit of the Laws. He emphasized the importance of the separation of the government's executive, legislative, and judicial functions into different bodies to prevent any single branch from overextending its power, thereby protecting the rule of law and individual rights.
Montesquieu's ideas greatly influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States, who adopted his principles of separation of powers in the Constitution. They also recognized that citizen participation and eternal vigilance are necessary to maintain liberty. These concepts have had a long-standing impact on how modern democratic governments structure their powers and protect the rights of citizens.