FOUNDATIONAL

I just finished the introduction of Simon and Schuster's Pocket Books edition of The Federalist Papers.  In order to claim my philosophical bearings on the subject of government, my list of who to read is as follows:

   William Blackstone (Commentaries on the Laws of England)

   Some of the 17th-century English civic humanists (who are they? "The civic humanist writers advocated civic virtue, or participation in self-governing political communities for the achievement of public good, emphasizing individual independence and defying what they saw as the opposite of civic virtue: a corrupt state." Hear, hear.) who drew heavily from Greek and Roman writers, such as:

    Aristotle

    Polybius

    Plutarch

    Thomas Hobbes and  John Locke  ("Both philosophers postulated the existence of an original state of nature in which people living outside the constraints of society enjoyed total control over their lives." -  Sounds fab. Makes me unhappy at having to pay my city in order to finish my basement. I know you could argue a societal contract in which we are all blessed by having a house up to code. But this is a discussion for another time...)

Continuing:

    David Hume

    Rousseau

    Montesquieu (Just the last names for the French, who have long names.)

I'm a fan of Montesquieu who, according to the Introduction, "reconceptualized the key idea of separations of powers in terms of function rather than social hierarchy.  Whereas earlier writers had conceived of checking power by dividing authority among the different segments of society (the populace, the aristocracy, and the monarchy), Montesquieu proposed the strict separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government to preserve the liberty of individuals." 

Whoa. Considering how pervasive the ideas and existence of class and social hierarchy still are, that was brilliant.  That said, the "lower classes" have a hard time participating in any system where cash is king.  Nothing is perfect, and government is not cut and dried.  Alas.

Wish me luck. Ha. John Locke, here I come.

P.S. Props to Maria Hong, who apparently wrote the introduction.