Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

by Robert K. Massie

Political liberty does not consist in the notion that a man may do whatever he pleases; liberty is the right to do whatsoever the laws allow.… The equality of the citizens consists in that they should all be subject to the same laws.”

This was in a letter Catherine sent. Over time her views when from optimistic to realistic. She wanted to free the serfs but had no real support. She was also realizing there was a limit to the power of the monarch.

she wholeheartedly accepted the views of Montesquieu and Beccaria, agreeing that “it is much better to prevent than to punish crimes.”

Her thoughts on using maiming to punish crime. She was highlighting the fact that it wasn't a good deterrent. We still haven't found the right deterrent or preventative measures.

“Experience shows,” she wrote, “that the frequent use of severe punishment has never rendered a people better.

Think about this in the modern age. Does going to prison reform many? She was already asking.

“The use of torture is contrary to sound judgment and common sense,” she declared. “Humanity itself cries out against it, and demands it to be utterly abolished.” She gave the example of Great Britain, which had prohibited torture “without any sensible inconveniences.”

Having reverted back to using torture for a time (After 9/11), it's good to see that 200ish years ago people were already saying, it's inhuman. After a while, she said, people would say anything to make the torture stop.

The hardest worker becomes careless if he is constantly oppressed and owns nothing.”

The greatest thing about history is watching people do the same thing over and over again. Serfdom was as bad as slavery. Why work hard? Or do a good job if, at the end of the day, you have nothing to show for it.