A commentary and review of Montesquieu's Spirit of laws /
"Montesquieu's political treatise (1752) The Spirit of Laws covers a wide range of topics in politics, law, sociology, and anthropology. Montesquieu advocates constitutionalism and the separation of powers, the abolition of slavery, the preservation of civil liberties and the rule of law,...
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | "Montesquieu's political treatise (1752) The Spirit of Laws covers a wide range of topics in politics, law, sociology, and anthropology. Montesquieu advocates constitutionalism and the separation of powers, the abolition of slavery, the preservation of civil liberties and the rule of law, and the idea that political and legal institutions ought to reflect the social and geographical character of each particular community. In the present book, de Tracy brings a scientific approach to explaining the motives, and hence the observed consequences, of various kinds of government styles. He systematically works through many substantial flaws in Montesquieu's work, and delves into Montesquieu's logical gaps. His values of personal liberty, human equality, and intellectual pursuit show through in every chapter. His explanations of economics and how different government organizations do or do not contribute to economic welfare and personal liberty are clever and clear; and he is frank in suggesting that economics as a theoretical subject warrants illumination by others." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved). |
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| Item Description: | Originally written in French about 1807. Later the manuscript was "committed" to Thomas Jefferson, by whom the present translation was revised and forwarded to Duane. The French edition appeared in 1819 under title: Commentaire sur l'Esprit des lois. compare Gilbert Chinard's Jefferson et les idéologues, 1925, pages 45-55. The word "thirty-first" in the title is an error for "twenty-ninth", which is correctly given at the beginning of Condorcet's Observations on pages 261, and on the title page of the French edition of this work, Paris, 1819. Reproduction of original from University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Library. Electronic resource. |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (viii, 292 pages) |