Lerner, Ralph. “Maimonides.” A History of Political Philosophy. ed. Joseph Cropsy and Leo Strauss. Chicago, 1963: 181-99. 2nd ed. Chicago, 1987: 203-22.  

Excerpt:

“If one is to discuss the objects and character or law, one must proceed from an understanding of the beings for whose sake a law is made. Maimonides proceeds accordingly; in his Guide of the Perplexed, he examines the need for law before presenting his thematic discussion of law. Of all the species, it is man and man alone who is strictly speaking a political animal. There are indeed animals that we justly call social, but none of the animals other than man requires reflection or foresight in order to survive. If man were left to lead the life of the beasts, he would perish immediately; by themselves, his animal faculties would fall far short of what is required for his survival. It is only through his rational faculty, by means of which he exercises thought and foresight, that man can accomplish what is needed for self-preservation. Food, shelter, clothing–all require the application of some art to the raw materials of nature in order to make them fit for use by man. Since the arts, in turn, presuppose the use of tools and the existence of men skilled in their use, it follows that man’s survival depends upon the division of labor and upon an orderly social arrangement under which each individual can devote himself to some particular occasion, secure in the knowledge that his contribution to the preservation of his fellows is requited by their contributions toward his preservation.”

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