We shift from seventeenth-century England to eighteenth-century France and from the methodological individualism of Hobbes and Locke to the methodological collectivism of Montesquieu and Rousseau. Working from a perspective that there is a general will apart and above the sum of the opinions of individuals, Montesquieu's work focuses primarily on the law and on manners of governing rather than the question of who governs. Like Locke, Montesquieu argues that the powers of government should be separated. Montesquieu's plan of separation between executive, legislative, and judicial powers is what the United States Constitution follows. Montesquieu asserts that the climate and environment affect men as individuals as well as society. Although many of his specific ideas seem quite silly now, we must give credit to Montesquieu for being perhaps the first social and political thinker to seriously consider the environment.

Reading assignment:
Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws
- Part I, Book 1-3, pp. 3-30
- Part II, Book 11, Chapters 1-6, pp. 154-166
- Part III, Book 14, Chapter 1-1, pp. 231-234; Book 19, Chapter 27, pp. 325-333
- Part IV, Book 20, Chapters 1-4, pp. 337-341

1. Introduction
2. Hobbes: Authority, Human Rights and Social Order
3. Locke: Equality, Freedom, Property and the Right to Dissent
4. Montesquieu: The Division of Powers
5. Rousseau: Popular Sovereignty and General Will
6. Rousseau on State of Nature and Education
7. Mill: Utilitarianism and Liberty
8. Smith: The Invisible Hand
9. Marx's Theory of Alienation
10. Marx's Theory of Historical Materialism
11. Marx's Theory of Historical Materialism (cont.)
12. Marx's Theory of History
13. Marx's Theory of Class and Exploitation
14. Nietzsche on Power, Knowledge and Morality
15. Freud on Sexuality and Civilization
16. Weber on Protestantism and Capitalism
17. Conceptual Foundations of Weber's Theory of Domination
18. Weber on Traditional Authority
19. Weber on Charismatic Authority
20. Weber on Legal-Rational Authority
21. Weber's Theory of Class
22. Durkheim and Types of Social Solidarity
23. Durkheim's Theory of Anomie
24. Durkheim on Suicide
25. Durkheim and Social Facts