214 PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS AND POLITICAL THEORYHintze. Hintze pointed out that throughout the 19th century there were
two types of constitutional monarchies in Europe. The first type was
based upon truly representative institutions, as in England, France
(sometimes), Belgium, Holland. The other type had no representative
institutions of real significance, as for example in Prussia, Austria, and
to some extent, France under both Napoleons, and the German Empire
after 1870. Whereas the former was the outcome of a long organic
and historical evolution of the Stiinde (estates) institutions and the
Stiindestaat, the latter was a creation of enlightened despotism through
the application of Zwangherrschatt against the power of the estates.
In the latter case, the state acted as guide and leader in bringing order
to a chaotic political structure and by so doing, it secured some freedoms
to the individual citizen. As Hintze correctly noted, Russia had been
developing in the same direction as Austria and Prussia, although the
process was not allowed to reach its logical completion. 1
To the extent that Speransky was a constitutionalist, i.e., worked to
prepare Russia for a "true monarchy," he followed the pattern set by
Austria, Prussia, and Bonapartist France. But even here, we should
make some qualifications. For this purpose, let us examine some of the
concepts underlying his three major reform plans, of 1802, 1803 and 1809.
The major theme of all three projects is the establishment of fundamen-
tal, solid laws. The daily work of the government would be directed,
guided by these laws. Therefore, the first and most essential concern
of Speransky is to define law and its purpose. Law, or the "constitution,"
defined as the corpus of fundamental rules of government, does not
grant liberties or license to the individual. On the contrary, it serves
to limit the individual's state of nature and to establish his obligations
to other individuals. 2 As society implies a living together of individ-
uals - and we know how essential the idea of community was to his
ethical theory - it is important that society establish the limits of the
freedom of action of these individuals. 3 Moreover, law also serves the
related purpose of preserving the security, safety, and activity of the
individual from infringement by fellow citizens and the threat of ex-
ternal danger. 4 The former is perhaps the more important of the
two, for the threat presented by individual egoism can be countered
and neutralized only by means of laws and rules governing the relations
1 O. Hintze, "Monarchischcs Prinzip und Konstitulionclle Verfassung," Staat und
Verfassung, pp. 349-379 passim.
2 Plan 1809, in Plan gosudarstvennogo preobrazovaniia grafa Speranskogo
(Moscow 1905), pp. 46-47 (note).
3 "Pervyi politicheskii traktat," loco cit. Russkoe Bogatstvo, (1907), No.1, p. 54.
4 Zapiska 1803, in Plan gosudarstvennogo preobrazovaniia grafa Speranskogo, p. 124.