Commerce in The Spirit of the Laws

Book 20 of Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws opens with two of the most famous, and compelling, arguments in defense of commerce.1 In the first chapter of book 20, Montesquieu highlights the “good things” that have resulted from the spread of commerce and trade in the realm of mores: Commerce cures destructive prejudices, and it is an almost general rule that everywhere there are gentle mores, there is commerce and that everywhere there is commerce, there are gentle mores. Therefore, one should not be surprised if our mores are less fierce than they were formerly. Commerce has spread knowledge of the mores of all nations everywhere; they have been compared to each other, and good things have resulted from this.