Machiavelli Flashcards
Machiavelli, The Prince, 1532, pragmatism and realism
“The gulf between how one should live and how one does live is so wide that a man who neglects what is actually done for what should be done moves towards self-destruction rather than self-preservation.”
Machiavelli, problem of virtue
“a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous.”
Machiavelli, what should the Prince do?
“learn how not to be good”
Machiavelli, generosity and miserliness
“there is nothing so self-defeating as generosity”
“miserliness is one of those vices which sustains his rule”
Machiavelli, justification for cruelty and punishment
“By making an example or two he will prove more compassionate than those who, being too compassionate allow disorder which leads to murder and rapine”
Machiavelli, “it is far better…
…to be feared than loved if you cannot be both”
Machiavelli, human nature
“men, wretched creatures as they are”
Machiavelli, should not be cruel for cruelty’s sake
“yet it cannot be called prowess to kill fellow citizens, to betray friends, to be treacherous, pitiless, irreligious”
Machiavelli, against tyranny
“those who establish tyrannies are as blameworthy as those who establish republics are praiseworthy”
Michael Walzer, 1973, “the dilemma of dirty hands is…
a central feature of political life”
it arises not merely as an occasional crisis in the career of an unlucky politician but systematically and frequently
Michael Walzer, 1973, the politician is different because…
they act in our interest, on our behalf and in our name, working for the collective benefit of us all, therefore this justified immoral behaviour as they do it for us
Michael Walzer, 1973, “no-one…
succeeds in politics without getting their hands dirty”
Michael Walzer, 1973, “here is the moral politician…
it is by his dirty hands that we know him. If he were a moral man and nothing else, his hands would not be dirty, if he were a politician and nothing else, he would pretend that they were clean.”
Leo Strauss, 1958
Machiavelli is a “teacher of evil”
Elizabeth Anscombe, 1981
Doctrine of Double Effect - if the intent of an action is good then the action is moral, actions with evil intent are always wrong even if they have a good out come, therefore acting Machiavelli’s instructions to act evil are not justified
