Machiavellianism (politics)
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Machiavellianism as a trope in political history is a pejorative term for the supposed political philosophy of the Italian Renaissance diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli, turned almost into a caricature of devious villainy. Though in discussions of Machiavelli's thought "Machiavellian" and "Machiavellianism" may be used in reasoned critiques, in general usage the terms more often occur in political polemic, suggesting an unprincipled lust for power, achieved through "subtle policie, cunning roguerie" (the earliest dictionary definition in English, from 1611), by the "Machievel", an adherant of these principles.
First appearances[edit]
The early appearances of the word all relate to its political meaning. It first appears in English (in fact Scottish) in the work of Robert Sempill (d. 1595). He uses "mache villion" and "Machivilian". As "Machiauilisme" it occurs in Thomas Nashe's Pierce Peniless (1592). A French to English dictionary of 1611 gives "subtle policie, cunning roguerie" as the meaning. The Italian machiavellista and machiavello also go back to the 16th century.[1]
Political thought[edit]
After his exile from political life in 1512, Machiavelli took to a life of writing, which led to the publishing of his most famous work, Il Principe, or The Prince. The book would become infamous for its recommendation for absolute rulers to be ready to act in unscrupulous ways, such as resorting to fraud and treachery, elimination of political opponents, and the usage of fear as a means of controlling subjects.[2] Machiavelli's view that acquiring a state and maintaining it requires evil means has been noted as the chief theme of the treatise.[3][4] He has become infamous for this advice, so much so that the adjective Machiavellian would later on describe a type of politics that is "marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith".[5]
While Machiavelli has become widely popular for his work on principalities, his other major work, The Discourses on Livy, focused mainly on republican statecraft, and his recommendations for a well ordered republic. Machiavelli noted how free republics have power structures that are better than principalities. He also notes how advantageous a government by a republic could be as opposed to just a single ruler. However, Machiavelli's more controversial statements on politics can also be found even in his other works.[6][7] For example, Machiavelli notes that sometimes extraordinary means, such as violence, can be used in reordering a corrupt city.[8] In one area, he praises Romulus, who murdered his brother and co-ruler in order to have power by himself to found the city of Rome.[9] In a few passages he sometimes explicitly acts as an advisor of tyrants as well.[10][11][12]
Some scholars have even asserted that the goal of his ideal republic does not differ greatly from his principality, as both rely on rather ruthless measures for aggrandizement and empire.[13]
In one passage of The Prince, Machiavelli subverts the advice given by Cicero to avoid duplicity and violence, by saying that the prince should "be the fox to avoid the snares, and a lion to overwhelm the wolves". It would become one of Machiavelli's most notable statements.[14]
Because cruelty and deception play such important roles in his politics, it is not unusual for related issues—such as murder and betrayal—to rear their heads with regularity.[15]
Machiavelli's own concept of virtue, which he calls "virtù", is original and is usually seen by scholars as different from the traditional viewpoints of other political philosophers.[16] Virtú can consist of any quality at the moment that helps a ruler maintain his state, even being ready to engage in necessary evil when it is advantageous.[17][18]
Due to the treatise's controversial analysis on politics, in 1559, the Catholic Church banned The Prince, putting it on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.
Machiavelli criticized and rejected the classical biblical and Christian thought as he viewed that it celebrated humility and otherworldly things, and thus it made the Italians of his day "weak and effeminate".[19] While Machiavelli's own religious allegiance has been debated, it is assumed that he had a low regard of contemporary Christianity.[20]
Reception of Machiavelli[edit]
In the late 1530's, immediately following the publication of The Prince, Machiavelli's philosophy was seen as an immoral ideology that corrupted European politics. Reginald Pole read the treatise while he was in Italy, and on which he commented: "I found this type of book to be written by an enemy of the human race. It explains every means whereby religion, justice and any inclination toward virtue could be destroyed".[21] Machiavelli's works were received similarly by other popular European authors, especially in Elizabethan England. The English playwrights William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe incorporated their views into some of their works. Shakespeare's titular character, Richard III, refers to Machiavelli in Henry VI, Part III, as the "murderous Machiavel".
The Anti-Machiavel is an 18th-century essay by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia and patron of Voltaire, rebutting The Prince. It was first published in September 1740, a few months after Frederick became king.[22] Denis Diderot, the French philosopher, viewed Machiavellianism as "an abhorrent type of politics" and the "art of tyranny".[23]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Note 16, Five Hundred Years of Italian Scholarship on Machiavelli's Prince
- ↑ The Prince, especially chapters VIII, XVII, and XVIII
- ↑ Strauss, Leo; Cropsey, Joseph (2012-06-15). History of Political Philosophy. University of Chicago Press. p. 301. ISBN 9780226924717. Search this book on
- ↑ "We shall not shock anyone, we shall merely expose ourselves to good-natured or at any rate harmless ridicule, if we profess ourselves inclined to the old fashioned and simple opinion according to which Machiavelli was a teacher of evil." -Leo Strauss, Thoughts on Machiavelli
- ↑ "Definition of MACHIAVELLIAN". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
- ↑ Mansfield, Harvey C. (1998-02-25). Machiavelli's Virtue. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226503721. Search this book on
- ↑ Mansfield, Harvey C. (2001-04-15). Machiavelli's New Modes and Orders: A Study of the Discourses on Livy. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226503707. Search this book on
- ↑ "Niccolo Machiavelli | Biography, Books, Philosophy, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
- ↑ "Discourses on Livy: Book 1". www.constitution.org. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
- ↑ Strauss, Leo (2014-07-04). Thoughts on Machiavelli. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226230979. Search this book on pg. 48
- ↑ Machiavelli, Niccolò, The Discourses on Livy trans. by Harvey Mansfield. Chap 16
- ↑ See Harvey Mansfield and Nathan Tarcov's essay at the beginning of their translation of The Discourses.
- ↑ Rahe, Paul A. (2005-11-14). Machiavelli's Liberal Republican Legacy. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139448338. Search this book on
- ↑ Skinner, Quentin (2000-10-12). Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780191540349. Search this book on
- ↑ "Niccolò Machiavelli, The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy".
- ↑ Mansfield, Harvey C. (1998-02-25). Machiavelli's Virtue. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226503721. Search this book on
- ↑ Hulliung, Mark (2017-07-05). Citizen Machiavelli. Routledge. ISBN 9781351528481. Search this book on
- ↑ Skinner, Quentin (2000-10-12). Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780191540349. Search this book on
- ↑ "Discourses on Livy: Book 2 Chapter 2". www.constitution.org. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
- ↑ Mansfield, Harvey C. (1998-02-25). Machiavelli's Virtue. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226503721. Search this book on
- ↑ Benner, Erica (2013-11-28). Machiavelli's Prince: A New Reading. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780191003929. Search this book on
- ↑ "Anti-Machiavel | treatise by Frederick the Great". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- ↑ Diderot, Denis (ascribed by Jacques Proust). "Machiavellianism." The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Timothy Cleary. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2004. Trans. of "Machiavelisme," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 9. Paris, 1765. Accessed 31 March 2015.
External links[edit]
- Machiavelli, Niccolò -- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Niccolo Machiavelli, Encyclopedia Britannica
- Great Thinkers- Machiavelli
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