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Charles de Montesquieu

Charles de Montesquieu, in his major work on social and political theory, The Spirit of Laws, explores, among other subjects, the impact of the physical environment, history, and social customs on the development of political institutions. This study will examine his approach, focusing on his emphasis on the establishment of the right government for the right people and culture at the right place and time. This approach sets Montesquieu apart from most political theorists who generally focus on one ideal government. Montesquieu seems at first glance to take a far less judgmental and moralistic attitude than most such theorists, accepting societies and their institutions as inevitably varied according to their particular needs. However, the deeper one delves into his writing and ideas, the clearer it becomes that he is shaped by the prevailing biases and prejudices of his own white, paternalistic culture, and that his ideas make up not a well-thought out social or political philosophy but a set of personal opinions with little of substance to support them.

Montesquieu briefly examines different political systems, including, for example, monarchy and the "government of many," but dismisses the notion that there is an ideal system, aside from the most appropriate one for the particular circumstances at hand:

Better is it to say, that the government conformable to nature is that which best agrees with the humour and disposition of the people in whose favour it is established. The strength of individuals cannot be united without a conjunction of all their wills. "The conjunction of those wills . . . is what we call the civil state" (Montesquieu 3).

Montesquieu's apparently open-minded tolerance for whatever system a people choose for themselves is refreshing on the one hand, but on the other hand such pure sociological objectivity makes one wonder if Montesquieu is perhaps too detached. Would he say that the "humour" and "disp...

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Charles de Montesquieu. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 02:40, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1708982.html