1 - Montesquieu's Political Science

Summary

Montesquieu's political science is founded on the idea that each state needs a political, economic, and moral order best suited to that particular society. The keys to unlocking his political science are in the preface and book I of De l’Esprit des lois. Book I, chapter 3 is especially important, because here Montesquieu defines his enterprise and explains the order of EL. Montesquieu's goal is to explain how each state can overcome three “problems of politics”: conflict between states, between persons, and between state and person(s). States and citizens must be secure from internal and external threats to freedom and prosperity. To achieve this goal, Montesquieu introduces the framework that I call the “politics of place.” He insists that each state must discern which particular political order will address these problems most effectively. There can be no universal solutions to these matters. Rather, Montesquieu's recommendations are flexible and case sensitive. They take the particularities of a people into account when seeking to establish a good political order. Still, for “politics” to occur for Montesquieu, various conditions must be met; we consider them in chapters 1 and 2.

The key to addressing the problems of politics is Montesquieu's core concept of esprit. The esprit of a society is formed by a great many factors or variables. Montesquieu insists legislators must consider them carefully if they wish to understand and act prudently in a particular society. Esprit is so central because it defines—and is defined by—the society in which the politics of a particular place happen.

This reading of the “Introduction” to EL reveals the purpose and order of Baron de Montesquieu's magnum opus, something that has puzzled scholars since the work's publication. While some are tempted to skip ahead to Montesquieu's famous discussion of the forms of government in book II, the “Author's Foreword” (Avertissement de l’auteur), preface, and book I shed essential light on the order of a seemingly disorganized work. Montesquieu presents his project in surprisingly clear terms.

Lawmaking and the Politics of Place

The Introductory sections of EL culminate in Montesquieu's politics of place.