ABSTRACT
Baron de Montesquieu, like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, presents a picture of a self-governing republic in which education for civic virtue is the crucial factor, and subordination of private interests and private wills to the public good the indication of success. Montesquieu regarded 'political virtue'—the preference for the common over the selfish good—as the root of all virtue. Montesquieu saw important advantages in monarchical regimes and found them admirable for different reasons. In categorizing governments as monarchies, republics or despotisms, Montesquieu employs two criteria: the number of citizens sharing sovereign power, and the use of law or caprice in governing. Montesquieu distinguishes between 'the true spirit of equality' and 'extreme equality', and argues that while the former is essential to republican success, the latter is a sure indication of its corruption and decline. He set a high value upon liberty as 'that good which makes it possible to enjoy other goods'.
