Nicolo Machiaveli Flashcards
Why is Niccolo Machiavelli called child of his time ?
He represents Renaissance- humanism , secularism , scientific reasoning- in political philosophy. Hence he is called child of his time, that is the changing times from Medeival to modern era
Who was the first modern political thinker who made politics, autonomous separate from religion and conventional morality?
Machiavelli
Who gave the concept of nationalism, nationstate and republicanism
Machiavelli
Why was Machiavelli banished
In his prime, he served as senior diplomat of Florence Republic, after fall of medici monarchists rule . But the Republic was overthrown., Medici again became king. With that Machiavelli’s Fortune went downside. He was Banished to an isolated, retired life.
Two classic works of Machiavelli
The Prince- His prince is of the genre of mirror to kings or advices to the kings on statecraft , similar to Zia Barani’s fatwa and Nizam lu mulk’s Siyasat- Nama
Discourse on Livy- how to have a well functioning, strong Republic and how a Republic can grow and prosper are the subject matter
Founder of modern political science
Machiavelli
Father of political Realism
Machiavelli
Machiavelli’s view on the nature of men
To him men are ungrateful, fickle , liars , and deceitful , cowards , selfish and greedy .
Men obey for fear of punishment not out of live or moral commitment
Machiavelli’s secularism in politics
He asserted in the ’prince’ that the supreme duty of the king is to maintain and protect his state and fir that whatever political decisions and actions he takes cannot be judged on the standards of conventional morality, ethics and religion has given autonomy to politics from religion.
He further asserted that politics and its own laws , rules and standards of morality and the ethics very different from morality and ethics as defined from religious or spiritual view point.
Pragmatism and realism in Machiavelli’s politics
He was the first modern realist in political science. For him in politics, the end justifies the means. Politics is interplay of interest and power. Force and fear of punishment is what gives political obligation and not the love and respect for the ruler. King can use violence, deception and breaking his promises., Lie, deceit, and all kinds, of means to maintain and protect his state. Political actions can only be judged on the basis of what kind of outcomes day bring, and not by the means they adopt . Such ruthless , realist views about the political life inside the first modern thought call political realism in modern times.
Machiavelli’s recommendations for ideal republic
Having rule of law and constitutionalism
Securing liberty of people
Flexible institutions
Public discourse
Public spiritedness
Armed citizens
Healthy connection between the masses in the ruling elites
Machiavelli’s idea on state craft and prime duty of the king as mentioned in the Prince
- State being an non ethical, amoral entity, not bound by conventional morality
Supreme goal of the ruler or king is maintenance of the state for security ,order . welfare for people possible only in secured and maintain state
There are no good or bad state. There are just or unjust ruler.
Political actions are to be judged only by its outcome is not by the means adopted to achieve them- end justifies means
Law and arms board are required for protection of state.
The justice of state is in the interest of the sovereign and safety of state is the supreme law.
To maintain himself, and his state, a prince must learn how not to be good aand act as situation demands. Conventional morality and ethics may be adopted but if not possible then behaving as the situation demands is the last best option to secure common good.
Politics is interplay of interest in power. Hence one cannot play the game of politics without making your hands dirty. Such is the nature of the politics.
Political decisions making should be separated from religion, ethics and morality
Machiavelli’s idea of Virtù
Meaning - personal qualities that a prince needs to acquire to maintain a state or to achieve great things.
Virtu I’m his idea prince/king
- Flexible disposition- change his behaviour, action as fate and circumstances demand
- Pragmatism- Rather than conventional morality and goodness. He should learn how not to be good.
- Ruthlessness, cunningness, deceitfulness, boldness, courage and shrewdness and will power are required to be successful in the art of politics.
- Loin and fox - nothing should have combined qualities of strength and force and shrewdness .
- Master in power politics- acquiring power and destroying enemies power and using power.
- Judicious use of violence/cruelty and benevolence- violence should be fast and reward, generosity slowly in instalments.
- Rely on support of people rather than nobles or aristocrats.
- Rely on own army.
- Fear rather than love for political obligation. Love is first emotion people discard when faced with choice, but fear of punishment is hard to abandon.
- Pretentious in public domain.- king should wear masks: appear to be just moral, virtuous, trustworthy , honest, but acts Opposite if situation so demands .
Machiavelli’s idea of Fortuna
Machiavelli’s fortuna is we get an uncompromising source of human misery, pain and disaster. It is the unforeseen adverse situation, bad luck and emergencies.
Fortuner is enemy of political order , the ultimate threat to the safety and security of the state.
He compared Fortuna as furious River destroying everything in its flood. She shows her power where virtu and wisdom do not prepared to register and direction of fury, where she knows no embankments are ready to hold her.
Virtù provides the prince, the ability to respond to Fortuna at any time and in any way that is necessary
Core theme of Machiavelli’s view on statecraft
State as a amoral , non-ethical entity.
Virtù as personal qualities and enterprise of the King necessary to maintain state and achieve glory.
Fortuna as emergencies, bad luck, adverse situations which can be overcome by the King, possessing virtu
