On Executive Power in Great States

Jacques Necker (17321804) was aSwiss statesman and financier who played a crucial role in French politicallife from 1776 to 1789. Born in Geneva, he was a devout Protestant who amassedconsiderable wealth as a successful banker. In October 1776, he was appointedas director of the Royal Treasury and, later, in June 1777, as director generalof finances of France under Louis XVI. While in charge of the finances of thekingdom, his most famous decision, in 1781, was to make public the budget ofFrance for the first time, a novel practice in an absolute monarchy.

His work On Executive Power inGreat States (1792) is arguably one of the most important texts everwritten on the issue of executive power in modern society. It includesmemorable formulations regarding liberty and public spirit among the Englishand the Americans, the relation between economic prosperity and political freedom,and the seminal influence of religion and morals on liberty. Necker provides adefense of representative government and offers an examination of the Frenchpolitical system, which he compares on several occasions with England andAmerica. Before Tocqueville, Necker understood the importance of America forthe Old World as the first successful example of popular self-government andfree institutions.

In his book, Necker called uponFrench legislators to study the principles of the U.S. Constitution. His boldinnovation was to replace the theory of the functional separation of powerswith the intertwining of powers that were dependent upon the existence ofeffective links between the executive and the legislative. In the absence ofsuch links, Necker maintained, all would be contest and confusion. Neckersfundamental premise was that it would be impossible to establish effectivecooperation between different powers solely through the exercise of constantwatchfulness and mutual distrust.

Although Necker was one of the mostimportant politicians in France before and during the French Revolution, he hasbeen largely ignored as a political thinker. This is the first modern editionof Neckers important work, shedding fresh light on the timely topics of executivepower, constitutionalism and the rule of law, federalism, balance of power, andthe dependence of liberty on morality and religion. Professor Aurelian Craiutusignificantly revised and corrected the 1792 English translation and addedexplanatory notes, an introduction, and a select bibliography.

Aurelian Craiutu is Professor of Political Science at Indiana University,Bloomington. An expert on French political thought, he is the author of Facesof Moderation: The Art of Balance in an Age of Extremes and the editor ofseveral works, including Germaine de Stals Considerations on the PrincipalEvents of the French Revolution, also published by Liberty Fund.