Question

With the help of examples show how the French philosophers proposed theories for a democratic government​

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation

(i) The ideas envisaging a society based on freedom and equal laws and opportunities for all, were put forward by

philosophers such as John Locke, Montesquieu and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

(ii) Locke wrote ‘Two Treatises of Government’, in which he refuted the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the

monarch.

(iii) Rousseau wrote ‘The Social Contract’, in which he carried Locke’s idea forward, and proposed a form of government

based on a social contract between people and their representatives.

(iv) Montesquieu wrote ‘The Spirit of the Laws’, and proposed a division of power within the government between the

legislative, the executive and the judiciary. This model of government was put into force in the USA, after the thirteen

colonies declared their independence from Britain. The American constitution and its guarantee of individual rights

was an important example for political thinkers in France. (v) The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in salons and coffee-houses and spread among people

through books and newspapers. These were frequently read aloud in groups for the benefit of those who could not

read and write.

Answer 2

Answer:

One theory holds that democracy requires three fundamental principles: upward control (sovereignty residing at the lowest levels of authority), political equality, and social norms by which individuals and institutions only consider acceptable acts that reflect the first two principles of upward control and political