Tag: Liberty

Topics

Major Works

  • On the Spirit of the Laws

    - Recommended edition: Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de. The Spirit of the Laws. Edited and translated by Anne M. Cohler, Basia C. Miller, and Harold Stone. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1989.
    Excerpt from the recommended edition: I began by examining men, and I believed that, amidst the infinite diversity of laws and mores, they were not led by their fancies alone. I have set down the principles, and I have seen particular cases conform to them as… More

Commentary

  • Religion & Liberalism in Montesquieu’s Persian Letters

    - Kessler, Sanford. “Religion & Liberalism in Montesquieu’s Persian Letters.” Polity 15, no. 3 (April 1, 1983): 380–396.
    Taking shelter behind a fictional account of happenings in an Iranian seraglio and in a presumably Islamic paradise, Montesquieu attacked the orthodoxy in Biblical religions. Professor Kessler examines Montesquieu’s treatment of religion in the Persian… More

  • Montesquieu

    - Shklar, Judith N. Montesquieu. Past Masters. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.
    From the publisher: One of the most original political thinkers of the Enlightenment, Montesquieu utilized his passionate belief in toleration and the moral benefits of science to construct a naturalistic system of political science based on the study of… More

  • Taming the Prince: The Ambivalence of Modern Executive Power

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    Mansfield, Harvey Claflin. Taming the Prince: The Ambivalence of Modern Executive Power. New York: Free Press, 1989.
    This survey of Western political thought ranges from Aristotle to “The Federalist Papers”, showing how the doctrine of executive power arose and how it has developed to the present day. Although there were various “proto-executives”,… More

  • Montesquieu’s Philosophy of Liberalism: A Commentary on the Spirit of the Laws

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    Pangle, Thomas L. Montesquieu’s Philosophy of Liberalism: a Commentary on the Spirit of the Laws. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.
    From the publisher: This first comprehensive commentary on The Spirit of the Laws uncovers and explicates the plan of Montesquieu’s famous but baffling treatise. Pangle brings to light Montesquieu’s rethinking of the philosophical groundwork of… More

  • Fearing Monarchs and Merchants: Montesquieu’s Two Theories of Despotism

    - Boesche, Roger. “Fearing Monarchs and Merchants: Montesquieu’s Two Theories of Despotism.” The Western Political Quarterly 43, no. 4 (December 1, 1990): 741–761.
    Although he did not invent the word despotism, Montesquieu more than any other author established it in our lexicon of political and politicized words. When we examine Montesquieu’s concept of despotism, however, we see an attack on two forces… More

  • Confronting the Constitution: The Challenge to Locke, Montesquieu, Jefferson, and the Federalists from Utilitarianism, Historicism, Marxism, Freudianism, Pragmatism, Existentialism

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    Bloom, Allan David, and Steven J Kautz. Confronting the Constitution: The Challenge to Locke, Montesquieu, Jefferson, and the Federalists from Utilitarianism, Historicism, Marxism, Freudianism, Pragmatism, Existentialism. Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 1990.
    The 17 essays in this volume examine first the precepts of the Founding Fathers and their mentors. Then the most significant preconstitutional ideas are outlined, together with analyses of how they harmonize with the Constitution and how they undermine it.

  • Montesquieu and the New Republicanism

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    Shklar, Judith N. "Montesquieu and the New Republicanism." In Machiavelli and Republicanism, edited by Gisela Bock, Quentin Skinner, and Maurizio Viroli. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
    Shklar analyzes Montesquieu’s distinctive republicanism and its legacy, especially in relation to that of Machiavelli.

  • An Intellectual History of Liberalism

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    Manent, Pierre. An Intellectual History of Liberalism. Translated by Rebecca Balinski. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994.
    From the publisher: Highlighting the social tensions that confront the liberal tradition, Pierre Manent draws a portrait of what we, citizens of modern liberal democracies, have become. For Manent, a discussion of liberalism encompasses the foundations of… More

  • Erotic Liberalism by Diana Schaub

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    Schaub, Diana J. Erotic Liberalism: Women and Revolution in Montesquieu’s Persian Letters. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1995.
    From the publisher: A treatment of Montesquieu’s “Persian Letters”, which argues that the novel is a philosophic critique of despotism in all its forms: domestic, political and religious. It shows that Montesquieu believed that the… More

  • Theories of Tyranny: From Plato to Arendt

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    Boesche, Roger. Theories of Tyranny, from Plato to Arendt. University Park, PA.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996.
    This book explores a little-noticed tradition in the history of European political thought. From Plato to Aristotle to Tacitus and Machiavelli, and from Tocqueville to Max Weber and Hannah Arendt, political thinkers have examined the tyrannies of their times… More

  • The Politics of Distinction and Disobedience: Honor and the Defense of Liberty in Montesquieu

    - Krause, Sharon. “The Politics of Distinction and Disobedience: Honor and the Defense of Liberty in Montesquieu.” Polity 31, no. 3 (April 1, 1999): 469–499.
    Elaborating Montesquieu’s concept of honor illuminates a dimension of his liberalism that has been neglected by prior commentary, and calls attention to a form of political motivation that has been overlooked in contemporary political theory. While… More

  • The City of Man

    - Manent, Pierre. The City of Man. Translated by Marc A. LePain. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000.
    From the publisher: The “City of God” or the “City of Man”? This is the choice St. Augustine offered 1500 years ago–and according to Pierre Manent the modern West has decisively and irreversibly chosen the latter. In this subtle… More

  • Montesquieu on Federalism and Anglo-Gothic Constitutionalism

    - Ward, Lee. “Montesquieu on Federalism and Anglo-Gothic Constitutionalism.” Publius 37, no. 4 (October 1, 2007): 551–577.
    The common perception that Montesquieu is not a major theorist of federalism is due both to the peripheral nature of his account of confederate republics and his praise of the unitary British Constitution in the “Spirit of the Laws.” This study… More

  • The Spirit of Separate Powers in Montesquieu

    - Krause, Sharon. “The Spirit of Separate Powers in Montesquieu.” The Review of Politics 62, no. 2 (April 1, 2000): 231–265.
    Montesquieu’s theory of separate powers is elaborated in a discussion of the constitution of England in Book XI, chapter 6 of The Spirit of the Laws, which is by far the most discussed section of that work. Many commentators have interpreted the English… More

  • The Uncertain Inevitability of Decline in Montesquieu

    - Krause, Sharon R. “The Uncertain Inevitability of Decline in Montesquieu.” Political Theory 30, no. 5 (October 1, 2002): 702–727.
    Krause examines Montesquieu’s understanding of regime decline.

  • The Machiavellian Moment: Florentine Political Thought and the Atlantic Republican Tradition

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    Pocock, J. G. A. The Machiavellian Moment: Florentine Political Thought and the Atlantic Republican Tradition. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2003.
    From the publisher: The Machiavellian Moment is a classic study of the consequences for modern historical and social consciousness of the ideal of the classical republic revived by Machiavelli and other thinkers of Renaissance Italy. J.G.A. Pocock suggests… More

  • Montesquieu: Critique of Republicanism?

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    Spector, Céline. “Montesquieu: Critique of Republicanism?” Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 6, no. 1 (2003): 38–53.
    The singular position of Montesquieu’s political philosophy seems to raise the question: Isn’t the opposition between republicanism and liberalism a largely artificial one? On the one hand, the description of the republican vivere civile in… More

  • Montesquieu on Slavery

    - Schaub, Diana J. “Montesquieu on Slavery.” Perspectives on Political Science 34, no. 2 (Spring 2005): 70–78.
    Schaub studies Montesquieu’s erotic liberalism and unveils the triple-despotism–domestic, political, and spiritual–that The Persian Letters portrays and ridicules. She closely tracks Montesquieu on big issues such as his shifting… More

  • Laws, Passion, and the Attractions of Right Action by Sharon Krause

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    Krause, Sharon R. “Laws, Passion, and the Attractions of Right Action in Montesquieu.” Philosophy & Social Criticism 32, no. 2 (March 1, 2006): 211–230.
    This article examines Montesquieu’s concept of natural law and treatment of legal customs in conjunction with his theory of moral psychology. It explores his effort to entwine the rational procedural quality of laws with the substantive principles that… More

  • Montesquieu and His Legacy

    - Kingston, Rebecca, ed. Montesquieu and His Legacy. Albany: SUNY Press, 2009.
    From the publisher: Montesquieu (1689-1755) is regarded as one of the most important thinkers of the Enlightenment. His Lettres persanes and L’Esprit des lois have been read by students and scholars throughout the last two centuries. While many have… More

  • The Design of Montesquieu’s “The Spirit of the Laws”: The Triumph of Freedom over Determinism

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    Samuel, Ana J. “The Design of Montesquieu’s ‘The Spirit of the Laws’: The Triumph of Freedom over Determinism.” The American Political Science Review 103, no. 2 (May 1, 2009): 305–321.
    One of the perennial puzzles of Montesquieu’s “The Spirit of the Laws” is whether it has a coherent design. Although the dominant line of thinking is that this work has no unified structure, another believes it to have some organizing… More

  • Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift: Montesquieu, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and the Modern Prospect

    - Rahe, Paul Anthony. Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift: Montesquieu, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and the Modern Prospect. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009.
    From the publisher: In 1989, the Cold War abruptly ended and it seemed as if the world was at last safe for democracy. But a spirit of uneasiness, discontent, and world-weariness soon arose and has persisted in Europe, in America, and elsewhere for two… More

  • The Propriety of Liberty: Persons, Passions, and Judgement in Modern Political Thought

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    Kelly, Duncan. The Propriety of Liberty Persons, Passions and Judgement in Modern Political Thought. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011.
    From the publisher: In this book, Duncan Kelly excavates, from the history of modern political thought, a largely forgotten claim about liberty as a form of propriety. By rethinking the intellectual and historical foundations of modern accounts of freedom, he… More

  • Civilising International Politics: Republicanism and the World Outside

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    Long, Katya. “Civilising International Politics: Republicanism and the World Outside.” Millennium - Journal of International Studies 38, no. 3 (May 1, 2010): 773–796.
    The link between republicanism and international relations theory is far from obvious. Among the many schools of contemporary theories of international relations there is not one that makes any explicit reference to republicanism. However, during the… More

  • Montesquieu and the Logic of Liberty: War, Religion, Commerce, Climate, Terrain, Technology, Uneasiness of Mind, the Spirit of Political Vigilance, and the Foundations of the Modern Republic

    - Rahe, Paul Anthony. Montesquieu and the Logic of Liberty: War, Religion, Commerce, Climate, Terrain, Technology, Uneasiness of Mind, the Spirit of Political Vigilance, and the Foundations of the Modern Republic. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2010.
    From the publisher: This fresh examination of the works of Montesquieu seeks to understand the shortcomings of the modern democratic state in light of this great political thinker’s insightful critique of commercial republicanism. The western democracies’… More

  • The Theological Basis of Liberal Modernity in Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws

    - Pangle, Thomas L. The Theological Basis of Liberal Modernity in Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws. Chicago: The Univ. of Chicago Press, 2010.
    From the publisher: The Spirit of the Laws—Montesquieu’s huge, complex, and enormously influential work—is considered one of the central texts of the Enlightenment, laying the foundation for the liberally democratic political regimes that were to… More

  • Montesquieu’s anti-Machiavellian Machiavellianism

    - Rahe, Paul A. “Montesquieu’s anti-Machiavellian Machiavellianism.” History of European Ideas 37, no. 2 (June 2011): 128–136.
    Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, mentions Niccolò Machiavelli by name in his extant works just a handful of times. That, however, he read him carefully and thoroughly time and again there can be no doubt, and it is also clear… More

  • French Political Thought from Montesquieu to Tocqueville: Liberty in a Levelled Society?

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    Dijn, Annelien de. French Political Thought from Montesquieu to Tocqueville: Liberty in a Levelled Society? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
    From the publisher: This 2008 study makes a major contribution to our understanding of one of the most important and enduring strands of modern political thought. Annelien de Dijn argues that Montesquieu’s aristocratic liberalism – his conviction… More

  • On Political Liberty: Montesquieu’s Missing Manuscript

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    Dijn, Annelien de. “On Political Liberty: Montesquieu’s Missing Manuscript.” Political Theory 39, no. 2 (April 1, 2011): 181–204.
    This essay draws attention to the importance of Montesquieu’s earliest and unpublished writings on liberty for our understanding of the famous eleventh book of the Spirit of the Laws. Montesquieu’s investigation of the nature and preconditions of… More

  • Montesquieu and Modern Republicanism

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    Douglass, Robin. “Montesquieu and Modern Republicanism.” Political Studies 60, no. 3 (2012): 703–719.
    In this article I explore Montesquieu’s discussion of republics and the constitution of England in order to question the extent to which he should be accorded a central place in a tradition of modern republicanism. This involves challenging Paul… More

  • Montesquieu’s Natural Rights Constitutionalism by Paul Rahe

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    Rahe, Paul A. “Montesquieu's Natural Rights Constitutionalism.” Social Philosophy and Policy 29, no. 02 (2012): 51–81.
    When Woodrow Wilson, in the course of his campaign for the Presidency in 1912, attacked Thomas Jefferson and Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, he knew what he was about—for the constitutionalism articulated by the latter and… More

  • Against the Current: Essays in the History of Ideas

    - Berlin, Isaiah. Against the Current: Essays in the History of Ideas. Edited by Henry Hardy. 2nd ed. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 2013.
    From the publisher: In this outstanding collection of essays, Isaiah Berlin, one of the great thinkers of the twentieth century, discusses the importance of dissenters in the history of ideas—among them Machiavelli, Vico, Montesquieu, Herzen, and Sorel.… More

Multimedia

  • Rebecca R. Clark- Finding and Founding Liberty: Montesquieu’s Account of the Gothic Roots of Modern Political Liberty

    - Rebecca R. Clark, "Finding and Founding Liberty: Montesquieu's Account of the Gothic Roots of Modern Political Liberty," at the John Marshall International Center for the Study of Statesmanship at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, January 19, 2012.
    Rebecca R. Clark presents “Finding and Founding Liberty: Montesquieu’s Account of the Gothic Roots of Modern Political Liberty” to the John Marshall International Center for the Study of Statesmanship at the Jepson School of Leadership… More