POLI 107 1st Edition Final Exam Study Guide Modern Political Theory Machiavelli The 16th Century Marked by Decline of representative feudal institutions Ascendency of Kings Notion of the king as the foundation head of political power became Politics economy and society were local during the 14 th century tied things within their community and villages Expansion of trade and communication in the 15 th century created a new set of interests favoring a strong central authority to promote national power Machiavelli Was attuned to the violence nationalism and institutional decay that marked his age Turned his back on religion and the church Strove to recover Italy s greatness with Florence at the helm The Prince and the Discourses on Livy are his two principal political works Both treat the same key questions Why do states rise and decline and what can statesmen do to make the permanent They also reflect Machiavelli s indifference to the use of immoral means for political ends The Prince focuses on monarchies and absolute governments while Discourses promote the benefits of republics Machiavelli s Innovation Primarily a theorist of diplomacy and the art of the statesman He elevates the importance of politics as an end in itself Conventional themes like virtue justice and the common good are framed according to their contribution to the strength and stability of the state If there is a supreme good it is understood in terms of power and glory These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Machiavelli builds a wall between politics and religious moral and social concerns The purpose of politics is not to make people good or to help them overcome weakness to achieve Good or happiness All of these things are nothing without a strong durable state Machiavelli s Significance to Political Theory In the political realm what we can do and what we must do are not always aligned with what we ought to do conventional standards of what is right and wrong One must be prepared to exhaust whatever means are necessary for what is right and good for the state Qualities of justice wisdom temperance and faith have little to do with politics and do not accord with human tendencies Rulers are who operate under the assumption that goodness will be reciprocated delude themselves and jeopardize their states if not their own lives Machiavelli Redefines Morality Morality for the statesmen the end justifies the means Morality therefore includes any and all acts that will achieve one s goals The statesman cannot be hamstrung by understandings of the Good that do not fit in the political world Machiavelli Rejects Christian Morality Christion morality has no traction over politics Two moralities one for the common man and one for the statesman whose life is politics Successful leaders must often violate the norms of Christian conduct Religion is just a tool to control or inspire his people Christian morality is otherworldly and distracts from this world It preaches an ethic of weakness and servility It distorts the art of politics and sets states on a path to ruin Statesmen must be above any group morality in order to be free to act Machiavelli s Disdain for the Church Machiavelli resents the role of the Pope in keeping Italy weak and divided He regrets the influence of the Church on the basis of purity and goodness which does not reflect its true corrupt nature Machiavelli Political Scientist Machiavelli s conclusions are biased according to his desired ends and they reflect assumptions derived more from common sense than scientific positivism His empiricism is highly selective and unsystematic Machiavelli s Basic Reasoning Statesmen are compelled to act a certain way because of the nature of politics which is itself a reflection of human nature Human nature is acutely self interested and egoistic leading to an adversarial social world Human selfishness manifests in chaos without the force of law to impose limits on our behavior and coerce us into obedience The legitimacy of the state ruler rests upon 1 the ability to coerce the citizenry and 2 the ability to ward off threats from other states The art of politics rests upon aggressive egoism Statesmen must craft policies to create an artificial harmony among selfish people Politics is particularly challenging and dangerous not a job for just anyone Coping with Human Nature Human nature is constant and cannot be changed Statesmen should not bother with fixing or perfecting our souls Rulers should aim to instill civic virtue in their people which will endear them to the state and direct their energies to supporting the state Law is a key tool in cultivating civic virtue and national character The point is to aggregate the egoism of the individual such that I becomes an artificial we Without civic virtue the statesmen must rely on despotism to cajole the people into doing what they must The success and stability of the state requires popular support which the people are not inclined to offer unless forced or coerced Modern Political Theory Hobbes Back Drop For Leviathan Leviathan was written during the English Civil War 1642 1651 Fought between monarchists and those who wanted to expand the powers of Parliament King Charles I committed treason against the people executed For a short period England was governed as a Commonwealth led by Oliver Cromwell a puritanical revolutionary leader In 1653 the monarchy would be restored with Charles II as king Hobbes aim in writing Leviathan legitimize absolute monarchy Hobbes System of Thought based upon scientific method popular in 17 th century driven by deduction and logic rather than empirical observations start with simple questions and then build only on what has been proven known as syllogism Conclusion 1 All people eventually die Conclusion 2 Socrates is a person Therefore Socrates being a person will eventually die Start by analyzing the correctness of the first two principle claims The conclusions is valid because the first two claims that derive the conclusions are valid Technique is deductive rather than empirical make bad assumptions the theory collapses Hobbes Materialism wanted to account for all phenomena in the natural world including human behavior Unifying theory of all observable events not simply a theory of politics Hobbes science of politics grounded in materialism the physical world is a mechanical