By Tazoacha
Asonganyi
The
German philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas tells us that there are two
schools of natural law: the Anglo-Saxon and the Continental. The Anglo-Saxon
school is optimistic and believes that the natural is good and can be
“corrupted” or “deformed” by an external intervention. The task of politics is
to restore society to its natural freedom – a freedom that society itself is
best placed to administer.
In
contrast to the above, the Continental (French) school of natural law begins
from the premise of a corrupted society which must be guided by a state which
can impose upon “disorganised” society; power is exercised to influence society
in a “positive” or “corrective” manner.
It is
in the exercise of this concept of state power that the Jacobins emerged in
France during the French revolution, guided by the principles of Continental
natural law to prosecute a revolution they saw as the rational transformation
of society by the state. Constitutions like those of Cameroon are directed by
Jacobinism and provide a central place for power which is exercised to achieve
state-led initiatives. Such constitutions contrast with those in which the
place of power remains unoccupied, with checks and balances ensuring that
strong institutions of power control and complete each other.
