Tag: checks and balances

This is a system created to make it possible for some parts of an organization (or government) to control others so that no part has too much power or influence. In a general sense, it is an equal distribution of capacities in a sense that one can match the other. In US government setting, checks and balances have been built based on the ideas of Polybius, Montesquieu, William Blackstone, John Locke and other philosophers and political scientists over the centuries. The framers of the U.S. Constitution divided the powers and responsibilities of the new federal government among three branches: the legislative branch, the executive branch and the judicial branch. In addition to this separation of powers, the framers built a system of checks and balances designed to guard against tyranny by ensuring that no branch would grab too much power. The system of checks and balances has been tested numerous times throughout the centuries since the Constitution was ratified. This has been very notable throughout history. Overall, the system of checks and balances has functioned as it was intended, ensuring that the three branches operate in balance with one another.