Modern politics is rife with examples of Machiavellian thought. If Machiavelli were alive today, would he be a liberal or conservative? A libertarian or fascist? Why?Post your response in the discussion forum, and check back to see what some of your classmates have written. Feel free to leave comments on the posts of your classmates.
Discussion: Machiavelli Today
This is a difficult question to answer. In some ways, Machiavelli’s ideas are closely aligned with Conservatism, because he argued for a strong foreign policy and derived his ideas from historical examples, which is reminiscent of Edmund Burke’s reverence for tradition.
I think he would be an odd mix off all the classes. Many of his ideas bounced around alot.
I agree with you completely. Machiavelli does seem to have an “odd mix” of ideas which are of appeal to many different political ideologies. This is perhaps best seen in his native Italy, where his concepts were of appeal to Antonio Gramsci1, the founder of the Italian Communist Party, as well as on Benito Mussolini2, the founder of the Italian Fascist Party. It also appears that John Locke was influenced by Machiavelli3, and libertarianism was subsequently influenced by Locke’s work. Edmund Burke, the founder of conservatism4, along with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, all found it necessary to critique Machiavelli’s work5, often in a disparaging manner. These differing views all highlight Machiavelli’s strong influence on the development of modern politics.
1. https://www.homolaicus.com/teorici/machiavelli/fonti/127-129.pdf
2. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23902033
3. https://apeterman.digitalscholar.rochester.edu/phl202f22/niccolo-machiavelli/john-locke-and-niccolo-machiavelli/
4. https://www.britannica.com/topic/conservatism
5. https://academic.oup.com/book/474/chapter-abstract/135248647?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Niccolò Machiavelli's political philosophy is complex and often misunderstood, focusing on the pragmatic use of power rather than ideological purity. His ideas transcend simple political labels, but he emphasized the importance of a strong state and the use of virtù and fortuna to maintain power. Therefore, it's challenging to categorize him within contemporary political ideologies, as his views could be interpreted to support various aspects of each.