SPIRIT OF THE LAWS (Hafner Library of Classics): Amazon.ca: Books

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LAWS, in their most general signification, are the necessary relations arising from the nature of things. Read the first page

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Concordance

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8 Reviews

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4.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the other reviewers think, Aug 29 2001

By

Simon Clarke (Christchurch, New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws (Paperback)

The Spirit of Laws is a passionate and eloquent statement of liberalism. But it is only that: a statement. It is not a defence. Montesquieu rails against despotism and carefully spells out the separation of government powers. But, unlike Locke or Mill, he gives little argument for why liberalism should be accepted. And those few sketchy comments he does give (e.g. despotism is bad even for the despot) are unconvincing.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Important book in the history of ideas, Aug 27 2002

By

entropier (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws (Paperback)

There are mainly two reasons why Montequieu's book is important. One is for his ideas, which still have relevance for current political issues, such as separation of church and state. The second is that it represents an important historical milestone in political thought. The real bonus is that, in the translation, his work reads in a way that is both intellectually engaging, by which I mean he gets you thinking about the issues, and also engaging (if entertaining is not quite the right word) as a series of philosophical perspectives delivered in a direct way generally free of jargon.
The most interesting part of his book for me was at the outset, in his comparison of despotism, republics and democracy.
The really important aspect of his book is that so many of the threshold policitical issues that he discusses are still live issues. How much should the state intervene? What constitutes good laws? What parts of life in a political society are the business of the state?

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4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but not really a philosophical treatise..., Aug 9 2002

By

Elliot Cross (NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws (Paperback)

Montesquieu doesn't really put forward a unified philosophically based political system here, so don't read it expecting something like The Republic, Leviathan or the Two Treatises. Stylistically this is very like Machiavelli; that is, no (overt) overiding system, rather just a long series of pithy pieces of advice for people actually in (or intending to make their own) government. If you've read Machiavelli's Discourses, you'll know what to expect.

I recommend you read at least Locke's Two Treatises and Machiavelli's Discourses before this, and then you'll get the theorectical background behind many of Montesquieu's points. Like Locke he thinks of liberty and republics being fine things, but like Machiavelli he cautions that circumstances should always be taken into consideration, and there is no one form of government that is always the right one for every people at all times, even republics. Because of this most of the book is spend enumerating various circumstances that might come up and appropriate reactions. For example, an early section is spend discussing the effect of climate on the people of that area, and given this, what form of government suits them best.

What this means is that while his work may not stand at a level with The Republic or Leviathan in terms of philosophical merit, if you are looking for knowledge that will be useful in the real world, this book is probably superior to those.

I definitely recommend you check this book out. It's imposing length is split into much easier to digest mini-chapters, so it doesn't seem as long as it is, and the use of examples makes it more interesting than many of the other drier works of political philosophy you might come across.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars a must read for the world's democracy advocates
an understanding of Montesquieu is critical for today's emerging democracies, in that he was one of the first to recognize the importance of securing the liberty of the governed... Read more

Published on Feb 14 1999 by knudy

5.0 out of 5 stars For students of U.S. Constitution
Our founding fathers studied Montesquieu's writings of pure democracy and rejected that form of government for our constitution. Read more

Published on Dec 30 1998