Modern Political PhilosophyChap 5 – when you conquer a new land you either let them go on living their same lives (which led to rebellion in Rome) nothing changes but the ruler…or establish an oligarchy which is most stable most it must be done over time, gain trust and whatnot. All the people want from the state is not to go too far, don’t shake things upThe prince is always better off siding with the peopleIn republics people identify with the stateSubjects vs. citizens- Citizens are wrapped up in state, hatred is keener and it’s richer in life- The surest way is to wipe them out or live with themSeeking unconditional surrender; Politics is for cold realists, not to buff your ego peopleThe most successful politicians follow this modelThe less extravagant gesture gets you closer to what you wantHis hero is Caser Burja (who violates his hypotheses) You should pursue life by consciously over reaching, set high goals (you won’t discover what you want otherwise)…step into the unknown“Existence precedes essence”- what you do defines who you areFigure it out and then I’ll do it? Do it and you’ll figure it out!Interaction with others acquires knowledge Key TermsFortune – operation of chance in politics; ex globalization in today’s economy (the sequence of decisions that get us there, it didn’t descent from heaven) Vertu – what we need to mobilize for fortune and the ability to deal with fortune; you’re trying to do moreNeccessita – enemy of fortune; limitation of human choice, it presents itself as “we have no choice”; “people who are competing, each party must learn how to wield the weapons of your enemy” – Machevelli; ex. Vietnam War – American forces couldn’t adapt to guerilla warfare, we had superior weapons but they kept regrouping and coming back. We were too advanced to beat them, we would have needed to regress back to guerilla warfare and we would have stood a chance; use neccessita to control and defeat neccessitaPrincipal of Economy – do the bare minimum to achieve the maximum goalViolence is a part of politics; a staple in the political state (uses principal of economy (violence))- Kill the members of the old royal family because it’s a limited strategic play of violence to stop an uprising , if they’re still around, to all out civil way which would yield more violenceThe prince should ally himself with the people over the nobility (he believes in rule by the people)- You should involve yourself in as many spheres of politics as possible- Because the nobility will only pretend to be your friends to take what you have, because the power will spark jealously among the nobilityThe working class is only concerned with moving up the social latter and politics is just a gross intrusion. They vote, maybe, but they don’t have true interest. As long as they don’t tax too much or intrude too much it’s a “don’t ask don’t tell, you do your thing and ill do mine” relationship. They will always side with the prince (candidate) who is asking the least from them.Intelligence is not a prerequisite for political successA successful state is one where the people can speak up (dissent)If people can’t speak and challenge up front, it will happen underground; people will conspire and burn the palace down Oppurtunita – (Chap 6) independence is a great virtue, if you have too much help from your friends too many hands are in the potIt’s me against the worldYou need an eye in the future, and eye in the past, and an eye that is constantly diagnosing the present…always drawing lines between them, it’s never worth being too pessimistic but the same goes for being too optimistic; setting the moral bar where everyone can obtain (proper self-realization and it’s against the grain(it won’t be easy)) Opportunity is manifested, paradoxically, in the lack of opportunity (“when it can’t be any worse…that’s your opportunity”)The highest level of human achievement is founding a kingdom – MachevelliEx. Moses had the opportunity of an enslaved, oppressed people to lead- Analyzes him from a political position- Knows how to respond to the times of the environment and navigate through them- He can be a faithful Christian even though he makes claims as using religion as a political tool, the wordof God in Moses’ casePlato – “the one(god) cannot even be one” (Parmenides)- You can’t quantify him, he is the first but not the only one- He is above our ability to do so- If you so, you create a comparison to all others- “He is behind the veil of ignorance”You need the politics to have religion and Hobbs touches on it and Locke takes it for granted yielding liberalism (the global goal) the bible is the coronal of liberalismMastery of FragilityMarx - “all that is solid melts to thin air” under power the human condition is fragile (when it is supposed toprovide stability)Power is parasitic on fragility and vice versa (the fragility always returns)- 2008 Obama dominates the election, and it’s an uphill battle in 2012 Cerebral people have a tendency to be overly generous; can’t say no- If you are forcing yourself to give through your intellectual process, you feel the guilt of not giving (it is a function of mental attribute) - Mach; if you do so, then where is the room for you? - You have no discipline and it distracts you from developing yourself- - he says the hardest thing to do is learn how to control your generosityIntellect is the prime source of powerCesare Borgia - Accomplished the political unification of the Romagna- After he defeats his opposition he has him cut in half in the public square- - if doesn’t it creates a lot of political opposition and tries to take back power creating a civil war- - avoids civil war which would have killed 5,000-50,000 people by killing one- - detours future conspiracies- - then he loses through personal fortuna (he gets sick and suffers the loss)Human Freedom vs. Determinism- Determinism: Too many cause and effect relationship currently and over history for true “freedom”- It is safer to act at anything than to act at nothing- Fortune is a woman, you must seduce and bend her to your will- Never let any impulse let you lose your cool and the focus on the goalMoses Maidicnides- Code of laws of repentance- Raises the ? of cosmic determinism vs. human freedom- If you accept that god is all knowing and chooses to let you do you do wrong?- “God’s knowledge and