Avoiding the greatest plague of all : Plato and Aristotle -- Societal responsibility and the undeserving poor : John Locke -- The noble poor : Jean Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith -- Empirical influences and the complexities of poverty : Alexis de Tocqueville and John Stuart Mill -- Poverty as a...

"This book aims to provides an introductory survey of Montesquieu's economic ideas and a fresh examination of the longstanding controversy over the meaning and purpose of Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws. No one doubts that Montesquieu helped to formulate the core liberal ideals at the heart...