Montesquieu’s (Anti-)Machiavellianism: Ordinary Acquisitiveness inThe Spirit of Laws

Abstract

This article dwells on what ways Montesquieu's transformative thought can be understood as an adaptation of Machiavelli's philosophy of aggrandizement. It turns especially on the question of ordinary acquisitiveness, which Montesquieu is glad to find flourishing in a world cured of Machiavellianism. But he is no simple Anti-Machiavel. Joining Machiavelli in excusing worldly acquisitiveness and facing its obstacles, Montesquieu departs from his predecessor on behalf of the ordinary individual whose wish to improve his lot in life the philosophe favors and whose security is among his first concerns. Beginning from Machiavelli's beginnings, Montesquieu moves from the grand acquirer to the ordinary and here takes Machiavellianism to a liberal conclusion. This is Montesquieu's (anti-)Machiavellianism. 1 As Carrese (2005, 122-23) notes, the view of Machiavelli as a ''pillar of the classical republican tradition'' informs the predominant understanding of the relationship. The republican reading of Montesquieu is hardly uniform; on this, see the excellent sampling of the literature in Rahe (2009, 280-81n40). 2 Citations of The Spirit of Laws (SL) refer to book and chapter, separated by a period. For all works but Mes Pensées and Le Spicele`ge, for which I have used Montesquieu (1991), I have used Montesquieu (1949). Translations are mine. 3 See Rahe (2011), who speaks of ''Montesquieu's Anti-Machiavellian Machiavellianism'' and considers Montesquieu's critique of Machiavelli in its relation to the earlier ''anti-Machiavellian Machiavellianism'' of Thomas Hobbes and Pierre Nicole, I focus on Montesquieu's pointed remarks on the Florentine. 4 On the impact of Montesquieu's tour on his thinking, see Spector (1998), who emphasizes the negative impressions of the moral effects of commerce recorded in his notebooks (e.g., Pensées, nos. 552, 592; Notes sur l'Angleterre; and Voyage de Gratz à La Haye); contrast Rahe (2009, 311n14), who finds such impressions overturned in SL. See also Haskins Gonthier (2010, 43-73) for a discussion focusing especially on England. 8 Mansfield (1979, 130), suggests that Machiavellian moderation might mean keeping extremism out of sight. 9 Carrese (2005) aptly refers to Montesquieu's ''moderated Machiavellianism,'' which he finds in the latter's separation of powers. Mansfield (1989, 213-46) similarly considers Montesquieu's constitutional moderating of Machiavellianism.