Montesquieu established some of the most important and influential political theories of all time. ... He established the ins and outs of what an ideal republican government would look like, while still painting a healthy level of skepticism that made his ideas realistic. ... In a sense, that is still what presidential debates do today. read more
Montesquieu was important because of the great political philosophers of the Enlightenment. He did two major works which are Persian Letters and the Spirit of the Laws. read more
The tone of life at court was set by the rakish regent, the duc d’Orléans, and Montesquieu did not disdain its dissipations. It was during this period that he made the acquaintance of the English politician Viscount Bolingbroke, whose political views were later to be reflected in Montesquieu’s analysis of the English constitution. read more