The Spirit of Laws

Montesquieu, more than anyone else, is responsible for the popularization of the term “despotism,” even though it did not originate with him. Despotism is one of Montesquieu’s three fundamental types of government, along with monarchy and republicanism. Though it may seem strange to the contemporary reader, Montesquieu believed that there was a crucial difference between monarchy (even absolute monarchy) and despotism: Although both forms of government are based on the rule of one individual, the monarch is bound by the rule of law. The despot is not, which makes his rule tyrannical. He rules by fear, subjugating his population at will. There is nothing to check his passionate whims, other than the mores of his society. Religion is a useful guide in lands governed by despots. For Montesquieu, the nations of the far East, especially China and Japan, best encapsulate the nature of despotism.

The general spirit is the spirit of a nation resulting from the confluence of influences upon a people. Montesquieu writes, “Many things govern men: climate, religion, laws, the maxims of the government, examples of past things, mores, and manners; a general spirit is formed as a result” (310). Though this term infrequently appears in