The Politics of Place: Montesquieu, Particularism, and the Pursuit of Liberty

268 Pages·2017·10.993 MB·English

by  Joshua Bandoch

THE POLITICS OF PLACE
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THE POLITICS OF PLACE
Montesquieu, Particularism,
and the Pursuit of Liberty
Joshua Bandoch
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Copyright © 2017 by Joshua Bandoch
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation, no
part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted,
recorded, or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission of the copyright owner.
First published 2017
University of Rochester Press
668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA
www.urpress.com
and Boydell & Brewer Limited
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
www.boydellandbrewer.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-58046-902-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bandoch, Joshua, author.
Title: The politics of place : Montesquieu, particularism, and the pursuit of liberty
/ Joshua Bandoch.
Description: Rochester, N.Y. : University of Rochester Press, 2017. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017030869 | ISBN 9781580469029 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de, 1689–1755. De
l’esprit des lois. | Political science—Philosophy—History—18th century. |
Liberty—Philosophy—History—18th century. | Particularism (Theology) |
United States—Politics and government—Philosophy.
Classification: LCC JC179.M753 B36 2017 | DDC 320.01/1—dc23 LC record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017030869
This publication is printed on acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America.
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To Maria
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Montesquieu’s Political Science 10
2 Security, Liberty, and Prosperity as Particularistic
Political Goals 44
3 The Political Variables 79
4 The Subpolitical Variables 120
5 The American Founding as a Particularistic Achievement 157
Conclusion 183
Notes 189
Bibliography 233
Index 247
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Acknowledgments
The seeds for this project were planted in a graduate seminar during
my senior year at the University of Maryland, College Park, taught by
Charles Butterworth. The class, on “Constitutionalism, the French Ante-
cedents: Pascal, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Constant,” introduced me
to Montesquieu. More than anything, I was struck by the complexity of
Montesquieu’s thought. My debt to Charles, my model teacher-scholar, is
enormous. He has remained an invaluable mentor and has assisted with
this volume in various ways, including helping me work through some
complicated issues, and with some translations. (All remaining infelicities
certainly are my own.)
My graduate studies at Notre Dame afforded me the opportunity to
study Montesquieu extensively. Catherine Zuckert was an excellent advi-
sor, always pushing me to improve, while providing direction and help
to do so. Fortunately, I continue to benefit from her advice. I also prof-
ited greatly from working with Michael Zuckert, Fred Dallmayr, and Jim
McAdams. Their insights strengthened my research on many fronts, and
they were always ready, willing, and able to provide good feedback. The
Nanovic Institute for European Studies was especially generous with its
support throughout my time at Notre Dame. Nanovic facilitated much of
my research, including stints in Munich, Paris, and Bordeaux. The staff at
Nanovic was always a pleasure to work with.
I started research on this book at the Political Theory Project at Brown
University, where I was a postdoctoral research associate for two years. John
Tomasi provided an excellent environment in which to work and think.
What’s more, John helped me sharpen my project, my writing, and my
thinking more generally, in critical ways. I’m grateful for all of his guid-
ance. While at Brown I benefited from conversations with Gordon Wood,
Sharon Krause, Bonnie Honig, and Annie Stilz. Dina Egge and Mary
Massed helped facilitate many of my endeavors. My research assistants
Alexia Ramirez and Marta Nicita provided valuable help on many fronts.
I completed this project at the University of Wisconsin–Madison while
a postdoctoral fellow in the American Democracy Forum, housed in the
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