Charles-Louis Montesquieu (1689 - 1755)

Montesquieu, one of the greatest figures of the Enlightenment, was famous in his own century both in France and in foreign lands, from Russia to the American colonies.

Born in 1689 to a noble family, French political philosopher Charles-Louis Secondat, Baron de la Brede and de Montesquieu, was educated mainly in the law. He occu­pied a hereditary seat on the parliament of Bordeaux while also pursuing scientific research. He achieved enormous literary success with Persian Letters in 1721. This work combines a brilliant satire of French society, as observed by fictional Persian travelers, with an examination of the moral horrors of the Persian seraglio, which, in Montesquieu's eyes, represented despotism more generally. The success of this work gave him access to the highest society in France and other countries, including England, where he spent two years. Montesquieu published Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline in 1734, and his most important work, The Spirit of the Laws, in 1748. When Spirit was attacked on religious grounds, Montesquieu responded with his Defense of the Spirit of the Laws (1748). In spite of his efforts, however, Spirit was placed on the Index of Prohibited Books, a list of works prohibited by the Catholic Church.

Montesquieu's reputation as a political theorist rests primarily on Spirit of the Laws. The product of twenty years' labor, the work is sprawling and somewhat disorganised, but it makes enormous contributions. Montesquieu was a pioneering figure in the development of social science. Spirit has a strong claim to establishing the sociology of law. According to Montesquieu, there is no such thing as a good law, in the abstract. Good laws must fit in with the overall systems of their countries and so vary accordingly. He analyses a wide range of factors - geographical, economic, and religious, for example - that combine to give rise to the "general spirit" of a country, with which laws (positive laws) must be in accord. Different societies fall into three rough classes: the republic, monarchy, and despotism. Each has a distinctive "principle," a moral passion that animates its legal - and larger social - system and determines which laws will be effective. The principle of the republic is virtue, or the love of equality; of monarchy it is honor; and of despotism, fear. Montesquieu's enormous labors are evident in his analysis of how laws concerning specific subjects, such as education, inheritance, criminal laws, and treatment of women, vary in accordance with overall systems. His analysis is infused with fear that France was degenerating from monarchy into despotism. To address this problem, Montesquieu primarily recommended returning to a more feudal system, in which a strengthened nobility was able to check the king. However, aware of the complex interaction of the factors that dominate societies, he preached only modest reform. His attention to the complexity of social forms was an important influence on subsequent conservative thinkers.

Spirit also presents a classic analysis of the British Constitution and how its separation of powers and checks and balances between executive, legislative, and judicial branches prevents abuses by government. Although somewhat idealised, this analysis has also been enormously influential.

For these and other contributions to the defense of liberty, Montesquieu is generally viewed as a great figure in the liberal tradition, in spite of his political preference for the nobility and the fact that he did not argue in support of democratic government.