Niccolo Machiavelli was born in 1469 during the Italian Renaissance in the Republic of Florence. He was best know fro his work The Prince which is very strongly politically based. He became know as the Father of Modern Political science for his strong views and standpoints in politics. He set some of standards for the politics that we know and discuss to this day. He worked in the public eye as a senior official in the Florentine Republic as well, setting his place as a knowledgeable politician.
Although he became most known for The Prince, he had another famous work that was widely known and embedded in politics was called the Discourses on Livy. It's sole focus was on the history of ancient Rome, more in the form of a discussion using political examples to stress points.
Machiavelli had a downside of such an investment in politics however, being known as an overbearing ruler who had ideas near what we would call a "dictatorship" today. Machiavelli once said, "Everyone sees what you appear to be. few experience what you really are."
However, though seeming innocent, that line proves to be very contradicting and hypocritical as some of his most famous philosophical sayings were the following:
"A prince … cannot observe all those things for which men are held good, since he is often under a necessity, to maintain his state, of acting against faith, against charity, against humanity, against religion."
“Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.”it was better to be widely feared than to be greatly loved; A loved ruler retains authority by obligation while a feared leader rules by fear of punishment."
A well detailed and broken down short video entailing the political theory of Machiavelli can be found here. The video does a good job of explaining how Machiavelli viewed things politically in life, and what was thought of him.
Here is another good video that breaks down his work The Prince into a 3 minute explanation. I enjoy the cartoon-ish vibes of it, it makes the learning experience fun.
Overall I don't believe Machiavelli meant terrible, but I don't exactly think he meant well either. I think he just grew up so surrounded and so early introduced to politics it became all he knew and grew a large obsessive behavior behind it. As all political figures, he just believed his way was the best and the only way.
Here are links to some final posts that I commented on:
Sydney Trammell, Section #6.
I believe I've had 10 runs since we resumed classes, with just a few extra bases. Maybe like 3 or 4.
I find Machiavelli very interesting. So many people like to paint others as simply being good or bad, when in reality life is full of gray spots. Though many find Machiavelli to be a bit harsh when it come to what a leader should be, I don't necessarily disagree with him. I do believe that a leader should have the interest of the society at heart, and that can sometimes mean not being a very good person. Despite this, I do not think that a leader would have to strike fear into the hearts of their subjects. Rather he or she should rule with strict, yet fair judgement.
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I feel like there needs to be an even balance between having your citizens fear you and love you. Power can be earned through multiple ways but you cannot be too complacent in a position of such power.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about how Machiavelli was not entirely terrible. It is true that growing up in an area where you are introduced to something so quickly that it consumes who you are will definitely make you a little twisted in the head.
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It's easy to bash Machiavelli from the perspective of our (until recently) relatively more peaceful and orderly age, but we must recall that he lived in a murderous era when politics was a blood sport and average people craved the stability of effective leadership. I do still hope we hold the bar higher for our own leaders, insisting on honesty as their default and not their mere discretionary prerogative.
ReplyDeleteHere's an interesting new article on Mach.--
DeleteWhat was most shocking about Machiavelli wasn't original, and what was original wasn't shocking: his realism...
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/what-we-get-wrong-about-machiavelli-the-prince-ferdinand-mount