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Machiavelli and The Prince. Politics as an Art. Our purpose here is to study politics as an end in itself, not just as a means by which policies are created, implemented, etc.
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Politics as an Art • Our purpose here is to study politics as an end in itself, not just as a means by which policies are created, implemented, etc. • How to become a politician and navigate politics is akin to becoming a professional athlete, doctor, or other professional. • Successful politicians help shape the future by leading the political process – successful policies are rooted in successful politicians – it is talent, skill!
Background on Machiavelliand the Prince • Machiavelli’s political and theoretical writings start off as a magnificent point to begin our class. • Machiavelli’s work is insightful especially in those situations where there is instability or substantial change at hand. The Prince is a playbook, a manual of sorts, for leadership where government needs to be created or stabilized.
Machiavelli • Lived 1469-1527 Medici, Italy. • Lived an unstable period of the fractured, war-prone city-states of the Italian peninsula (before unification as a single country). • Hence, the key problem to his period is the lack of a unified, stable government for Italy, due to intervention by outside monarchies and the political strength of the Pope.
Machiavelli as first Modern Political Theorist • Machiavelli is considered the first political theorist due to rejection of Ancient philosophy, which is characterized by: • Happiness is goal- a well formed society like a beehive- everyone in their place and peaceful. (Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, etc.) • Nature or Gods control fate of humanity.
Machiavelli believes… • That man must control his own destiny, not God(s) or society. In so doing, man is in effect not allowing “nature” to dictate his fate. • Power is what people want and that people will do anything to obtain it • That the teachings of Socrates, Jesus, and Confucius are fine intellectually but that people do not actually behave that way
The Prince • Written as a gift for Prince Lorenzo de’ Medici, in order to help win a political job. The Prince is not as coherent as most theoretical works due to its purpose as a gift and as a playbook of sorts for politicians, but contains many useful insights. • Machiavelli’s more important work is the Discourses on Livy, which explains how and why to set up a Republic.
The Prince • Theme: POWER! • How to get it and how to keep it • An individual can learn how to obtain and maintain power through lessons of history----both immediate history and the histories of Greece and Rome.
Your Turn! • In your notebooks: • 1. Identify positions that call for leadership • Ex. School principal • 2. What generalizations can you make about the skills these leaders should have? • Ex. honesty • 3. What are skills, traits, or powers you think help a leader get ahead or get things done? • Do any overlap with question number two?
The Prince • 1st decision that an individual must make is whether he really wants power because a person who does not truly desire power should stay out of that arena. Those who seek power must be willing to do whatever is necessary to obtain it. • 2nd decision is those who seek power must understand: • What they want power over • How they will exercise power • How they will maintain power
The Prince • A leader must possess several characteristics: • Cunning • Stingy: power is about force and the money to buy that force and sustain it • Believed Caesar was too generous and would ruin himself • Cruel: being hated and feared is better than being loved • Ability to lie: leaders should never keep a promise unless it convenient
The Prince • Selection of supporters is also important • Capable, loyal, and under the leader’s control • Must be flatterers, but the leader must be able to judge this flattery • Anyone who contradicts the leader in public or gives a honest opinion in public must be removed
