Montesquieu · Politics

Three Kinds of Government

Montesquieu’s striking classification: republics, monarchies, and despotisms differ not just in <em>who</em> rules but in the deep emotional <em>principle</em> that animates each - virtue, honour, or fear - the spring that makes the whole machine run.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that Montesquieu paired each form of government with an animating “principle”: virtue, honour, fear. Explain in your own words what he meant by a government’s principle , and why he thought a regime collapses when its principle is corrupted.

Leads to Jean Bodin.

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