Mixed government

Mixed government, also known as a mixed constitution, defines a constitution in which the form of government is a combination of democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy, making impossible their respective degenerations (anarchy, oligarchy and tyranny).[1] The idea was popularized during classical antiquity in order to describe the stability, the innovation and the success of the Republic as developed within the Roman Constitution. It is commonly treated as an antecedent of separation of powers because in such a system some issues are decided by many (democracy), some other issues by few (aristocracy), and some other issues by a single person (monarchy). Unlike democracies, aristocracies and monarchies, a mixed government is ruled by elected citizens rather than inherited, appointed or sorted (sortition was conventionally regarded at the Greco-Roman time as the principal characteristic of Classical democracy[2]).

The concept of a mixed government was studied during the Renaissance and the Age of Reason, by Macchiavelli, Vico, Kant, Hobbes and others. It was, and is, a very important theory among supporters of Republicanism. Various schools have described modern democracies, such as the EU and the US, as mixed governments with mixed constitutions.

Ancient Greek philosophers

Plato in his book The Republic divided governments into five basic types (Four being existing forms and one being Plato's ideal form, which exists "only in speech"):

He found flaws with all existing forms of government and thus concluded that aristocracy, which emphasizes virtue and wisdom, is the purest form of government. Aristotle largely embraced Plato's ideas and in his Politics three types (excluding timocracy) are discussed in detail. Aristotle considers constitutional government (a combination of oligarchy and democracy under law) the ideal form of government, but he observes that none of the three are healthy and that states will cycle between the three forms in an abrupt and chaotic process known as the kyklos or anacyclosis. In his Politics he lists a number of theories of how to create a stable government. One of these options is creating a government that is a mix of all three forms of government.

Polybius argued that most states have a government system that is composed of "more than one" of these basic principles, which then was called a mixed government system.[3]

Roman Era

The ideal of a mixed government was popularized by Polybius, who saw the Roman Republic as a manifestation of Aristotle's theory (Millar,2002). Monarchy was embodied by the consuls, the aristocracy by the Senate, and democracy by the elections and great public gatherings of the assemblies. Each institution complements and also checks the others, presumably guaranteeing stability and prosperity. Polybius was very influential and his ideas were embraced by Cicero (Millar, 2002).

Middle Ages

St. Thomas Aquinas argued in his letter On Kingship that a monarchy, with some limitations set by an aristocracy and democratic elements, was the best and most just form of government. He also emphasized the monarch's duty to uphold the divine and natural law and abide by limitations imposed on the monarch by custom and existing law.

Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment

Cicero became extremely well regarded during the Renaissance and many of his ideas were embraced. Polybius was also rediscovered and the positive view of mixed governments became a central aspect of Renaissance political science integrated into the developing notion of republicanism. In order to minimise the misuse of political power, John Calvin advocated a mixture of aristocracy and democracy as the best form of government. He praised the advantages of democracy: "It is an invaluable gift if God allows a people to elect its overlords and magistrates." To further safeguard the rights and liberties of ordinary men and women, Calvin also favored the distribution of power to several political institutions (separation of powers).[4] Mixed government theories became extremely popular in the Enlightenment and were discussed in detail by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Giambattista Vico, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Kant. Apart from his contemporaries, only Montesquieu became widely acknowledged as the author of a concept of separation of powers (although he wrote rather on their "distribution").[5]

According to some scholars, for example, Heinrich August Winkler, the notion also influenced the writers of the United States Constitution who based the idea of checks and balances upon the ancient theory.[6] The constitution of Britain during the Victorian Era with a Parliament composed of the Sovereign (monarchy), a House of Lords (aristocracy) and House of Commons (democracy) is a prime example of a mixed constitution in the 19th century. Its beginnings dated back to the Glorious Revolution.[7]

The "father" of the American constitution, James Madison, stated in Federalist Paper No. 40 that the constitutional convention of 1787 created a mixed constitution. Madison referred to Polybius in Federalist Paper No. 63.[8]

Modern views

One school of scholarship, based mainly in the United States, considers mixed government to be the central characteristic of a republic, and holds that the U.S. has rule by the one (the President), the few (the Senate, which was originally supposed to represent the States), and the many (House of Representatives).

Yet another school of thought in the United States says the Supreme Court has taken on the role of "The Best" in recent decades, ensuring a continuing separation of authority by offsetting the direct election of senators and preserving the mixing of Democracy, Aristocracy, and Monarchy.

European Union

According to a view, in the European Union context the Commission President represents the rule by the one, while the Council represents the aristocratic dimension and the Parliament represents the democratic dimension.[9]

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Polibio, Storie
  2. ↑ Headlam, James Wycliffe (1891). Election by Lot at Athens. p. 12.
  3. ↑ Heinrich August Winkler (2012), Geschichte des Westens. Von den Anfängen in der Antike bis zum 20. Jahrhundert, Third Edition, Munich (Germany), ISBN 978-3-406-59235-5, p. 179
  4. ↑ Jan Weerda, Calvin, in: Evangelisches Soziallexikon, Third Edition, Stuttgart (Germany), 1958, col. 210
  5. ↑ Heinrich August Winkler (2012), pp. 184ff
  6. ↑ Heinrich August Winkler (2012), p. 301
  7. ↑ Heinrich August Winkler (2012), pp. 151ff
  8. ↑ Cf. Heinrich August Winkler (2012), pp. 290ff
  9. ↑ Explaining the stability of the EU through the concept of a Mixed Constitution