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Machiavelli, Niccolo (1469–1527)

Niccolò Machiavelli was a Florentine diplomat, political theorist, historian, and poet. He was politically active in the courts of Louis XII of France, Cesare Borgia, Maximilian I, and Pope Julius II. After the return to power of the Medici in Florence in 1512, Machiavelli underwent banishment and withdrawal to Sant' Andrea, where he wrote his two major political works: The Prince (II Principe, 1513), and Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livy (Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio, 1513–1522). These political writings present themselves as political counsel. They deal mainly with the possibilities for the lasting stabilization and self-preservation of polities. The theme of time emerges against the background of this practical problem. Machiavelli's analysis of history focuses on the way different factors are persistent or variable with time. He formulates advice for different time frames and deals with the correct handling of the opportunities and dangers of time as a factor of political action.

The Prince

Machiavelli's project can be understood as an answer to the then current political crisis of an Italy that was splintered into city-states. The Prince is his most influential work. Formally the work follows in the Middle Ages tradition of “mirrors for princes” that deal with the presentation of the kingly virtues. But Machiavelli breaks with the tradition in content. Instead of a normative orientation around Aristotelian virtue ethics and the Christian natural law tradition, he lays out a series of rules for political cunning. Not the ideal, but rather the actual determines Machiavelli's advice. Most of this advice relates in particular to the acquisition and maintenance of power by a new prince. Machiavelli's achievements in The Prince testify thereby to his efforts to recommend himself to the Medici for reinduction into the service of the state.

The virtues (virtu) Machiavelli recommends for princes should not be understood as classical virtues. These would even be harmful. The prince must appear to have those virtues that are considered good, but he must also have the ability to contravene mercy, humanity, and religion. For Machiavelli, justice and political success are not connected.

This counsel, directed to the achievement and preservation of the power of the autocrat, gave Machiavelli the reputation of a “teacher of wickedness.” This emancipation of politics from morality was influential in the history of ideas. The directives, focused on the preservation of the prince, provided a basis for later thought on questions of national interest and are to this day a point of reference for political realism.

The Discourses

The Discourses are a commentary by Machiavelli on the Roman histories of Titus Livy. But at the same time, he unfolds a republican theory of the state. His analysis of the history of Rome has the goal of enabling a revival of Rome's political success. Since the basic structure of the world is invariable, history can serve as a teacher in current political questions. The imitation of ancient Rome could thus be the solution to the political crisis of contemporary Italy.

Machiavelli claimed that there are particular, necessary rules in history that hold for all time. These nécessita are not interventions into history by a god (providentia dei) but rather regularities comparable to natural laws. Throughout time, political events follow necessarily from particular preconditions. This compulsion can result from natural circumstances or from the actions of humans.

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