SOURCE: Shklar, Judith. “The Spirit of the Laws: necessity and freedom.” In Montesquieu, pp. 93-110. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.

In this excerpt from her study of Montesquieu's works, Shklar begins by examining the development of Montesquieu's theory of culture, or the cumulative reasons that different regions and peoples adopt different systems of government; she also critiques his theory, suggesting that he overemphasized psychology. Shklar also discusses the importance of commerce to Montesquieu's notions of government and the function of laws.

The second part of The Spirit of the Laws deals with the ways in which the physical environment and the acquired culture of a people shape its actual and potential laws. This is the realm of necessity, of climates that dominate our physical and emotional development, and of compulsive habits and beliefs that are passed down from one generation to the next. Geography, history, and economic resources exert...