The Role of Montesquieu in the History of Liberalism

In Fairness, Claire Levy argues that Montesquieu's account of England is idealizing and hypothetical. In other words, why take the history nearly as history? Why not see it as a political philosophical deed as the creative deed of a philosophic legislator? And all of that comes from Levy's own account. If I'm right, there's much more going on inMontesquieu than mere history. It might very well be relevant to the history of liberalism.