political thinking – pol 161
DESCRIPTION
Political Thinking – POL 161. Erik Rankin Machiavelli 34-53. Machiavelli – Book VIII. Other than fortune and prowess a man can come to power by the use of criminal acts They attain power by killing citizens & betraying friends Princes who commit these acts find power, but never glory - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Political Thinking – POL 161
Erik Rankin
Machiavelli 34-53
![Page 2: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Machiavelli – Book VIII
• Other than fortune and prowess a man can come to power by the use of criminal acts
• They attain power by killing citizens & betraying friends• Princes who commit these acts find power, but never glory
– Here we see a condemnation of “evil power”
– Does this seem odd given Machiavelli’s reputation?
• Machiavelli goes on to give the examples of King Agathocles of Syracuse– Rose to power through crime
– Was a common citizen who rose through the ranks of the military
– Called a meeting with the Senate and ordered his men to kill the Senate and he took power
![Page 3: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Machiavelli – Book VIII
• Agathocles’ Lack of Virtue– Rose to power via military– Used those ties to make a deal with Hamilcar of
Carthage, effectively using Hamilcar’s troops– Invites all of the senate together for a meeting and
promptly slaughters them– The Carthaginians attempted to take power for
themselves, only to be attacked by Agathocles’ forces, they fled with Agathocles in control of Syracuse
– Odd passage on pg. 60– Why is this passage odd?
![Page 4: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Machiavelli – Book VIII
• How is Borgia different from Agathocles?• Story of Borgia and d’Orco
– How did Borgia come to power?– Hires d’Orco to govern the Romagna, and was told to use
whatever cruelty was necessary– After d’Orco achieved what Borgia wanted he returned
and appeared angry with d’Orco– He punished him by cutting him to pieces (literally) in
the public square for all to see– The people were both obedient and grateful to Borgia,
and then set up courts to handle disputes
• Now I ask what is the difference?
![Page 5: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Machiavelli – Book VIII• The answer is the way Borgia carried out his cruelties
– He did not do them himself
– Convinced the people he was unaware of d’Orco
• Thus, pacification without liabilities• If he had done these things himself, he would have been
hated by the people• It is wise to be feared, but NOT hated• Hated means plots, which mean more time money and stress
to defend ones self against your own people• Simply, not in the Princes best interest to have a reputation
for being arbitrarily cruel and immoral
![Page 6: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Machiavelli – Book VIII
• Machiavelli tempers his criticism of Agathocles because he did not sustain his cruelty
• But he never praises Agathocles, because he does not think his cruelty was accomplished with finesse
• Finesse is HUGE for Machiavelli• Allows the Prince to achieve more with less expended in
terms of money, skill, and less risk• Chapter 18 will tie all of this up
– “You should seem to be compassionate, trustworthy, sympathetic, honest, religious, and indeed, be all these things; but at the same time you should be constantly prepared, so that, if these become liabilities, you are trained and ready to become their opposites”
![Page 7: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Machiavelli – Book IX• Prince can also come to power through his fellow
citizens – Constitutional Principality
• Every city is comprised of 2 groups: commons and nobles
• Common people want to avoid being dominated and oppressed by nobles
• Nobles naturally want to dominate and oppress commoners – seems like we have an issue!
• The opposition between the two is where we end up with a principality, a free state or anarchy
![Page 8: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Machiavelli – Book IX• Principality
– Power to form is with either nobles or commoners– If either side can’t get what they want they will try to
establish one of their own as the Prince– A noble Prince will have troubled if he is not supported
by the people, however a Prince created by the people is supreme
– Nobles will become dependent on the Prince or independent of his control
– Princes must watch Nobles, they can become enemies– Prince’s must retain the peoples friendship, Benevolence
is the best way to command the people
![Page 9: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Machiavelli – Book X
• Armies should be maintained in terms of size to that of any aggressor
• Must also put a priority on maintaining defenses and fortifications
• These defenses will provide security and a valid deterrent to all enemies
• Idea that that if a fortified city is attacked the people seeing their city in flames will cause the people to turn on the Prince
• A Prince that has made proper preparations defensively will actually inspire subjects to fight
• Prince must inspire patriotism & enthusiasm by convincing subjects that hardships are only temporary
• After the battle the people will love the Prince even more!
![Page 10: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Machiavelli – Book XI• Ecclesiastical Principalities are those regions
controlled by the Catholic Church• Taking control of these principalities is difficult, one
must have good fortune or prowess• Prince does not even need to rule in this type of
principality because it is the religion that is the ruler• The states are always secure and happy, and they
need not be defended• These principalities are “sustained by higher powers
which the human mind cannot comprehend”• Do you get the feeling that Machiavelli respects the
church?
![Page 11: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Machiavelli – Book XI• Machiavelli goes on to describe how the church has
recently come to power– Power was once split up by the city-states and the papacy– Power was quite weak then– Pope Alexander VI (with the help of his son, Cesare
Borgia) and Julius II greatly strengthened the church by using force
– Machiavelli felt that the new Pope, Leo X needed to maintain the empire through goodness and virtue, the arms work had already been done
![Page 12: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Machiavelli – Book XII• Two foundations of a strong state are:
– Strong laws and strong armies
• Good laws w/o good armies are impossible & a good army shows that there are strong laws
• 3 types of armies for Machiavelli– Prince’s own troops– Mercenaries– Auxiliary
• Mercenary & Auxiliary troops are “useless and dangerous”
![Page 13: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Machiavelli – Book XII• Mercenaries are “disunited, undisciplined,
ambitious, and faithless”• All they care about is making money and this
impacts their morale and effectiveness• Mercenary commanders are either skilled or not
skilled– The unskilled ones are worthless– The skilled ones cannot be trusted
• The Prince should command his own army• Machiavelli blames the reliance on mercenary
armies as the reason for the degrade in Italy’s political and military might
![Page 14: Political Thinking – POL 161](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022082611/56812cf2550346895d91bf0b/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Journal Entry
• When Machiavelli describes the city, who does it exist for, the ruler or the populace?
• Do you feel there is a difference between King Agathocles and Cesare Borgia in terms of cruelty?
• Do you feel that cruelty is a useful tool in today's society?