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What  is  Freedom?  Machiavelli  on  Republican  Freedom  –  Feb.  23rd,  2015    

Agenda  • Class  Housekeeping:  Debate  Assignment,  Exam  Next  Week  • Quick  Write  on  Machiavelli:  the  word  freedom  is  used  dozens  of  time  in  the  reading  for  today.  

What  is  your  sense  of  what  Machiavelli  means  by  freedom?  How  is  this  similar  to  /  different  from  what  Plato  seems  to  have  had  in  mind?    

• Intro  to  Machiavelli    • Small  Group  Discussion  of  DQs  &  Quick  Write  • Mini-­‐Lecture  on  the  “Republican”  Tradition  of  Freedom  • Active  Learning  Exercise  on  the  Political  Conditions  supportive  of  Freedom  

 Class  Housekeeping    Quick  Write    Intro  to  Machiavelli    SGD  of  DQs    LGD  of  DQs  and  Quick  Write    Mini  Lecture  on  Machiavelli  &  the  Republican  Tradition      Machiavelli (1469-1527)

Machiavelli was a Florentine Diplomat, Man of Letters

He got his start in politics in his late 20s when Savanarola was ousted from power in

1498.

Return of the Medici Family to Power: Arrested on a charge of conspiracy in 1513, and put to the torture, he disclaimed all knowledge of the alleged conspiracy. Although pardoned, he was obliged to retire from public life and devoted himself to literature. In May 1527 the Florentines again drove out the Medici and proclaimed the republic -- but Machiavelli, bitterly disappointed that he was to be allowed no part in the movement for liberty, and already in declining health, died on June 22.

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Through misrepresentation and misunderstanding his writings were spoken of as almost diabolical, his most violent assailants being the clergy. The first great edition of his works was not issued until 1782. From that period his fame as the founder of political science has steadily increased.

A Name that Lives in Infamy

Shakespeare: “the murderous Machiavel’

Edmund Burke: referred to the “odious maxims of Machiavelli” that he thought

animated the “democratic tyranny” of the French Revolution.

Marx attacked the principles of Machiavellianism with no less vehemence.

All seem to agree that the evils of Machiavellianism constitute one of the most

dangerous threats to the moral basis of political life.

Machiavelli’s Reputation among Political Actors

In 1972, Henry Kissinger was accused by an interviewer from The New Republic of

being a Machiavellian. Kissinger feverishly denied that accusation and said

Machiavelli’s ideas had no influence over his view of international relations.

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More recently, political strategists such as Dick Morris (who worked for Bill Clinton)

and Karl Rove (who worked for GWB) have been called Machiavellians (as an insult).

“Mayberry Machiavelli.”

Reading Machiavelli in the Best Possible Light

Machiavelli arrives into our hands with a significant amount of baggage.

Given what we know about “Machiavellianism” as a part of the parlance of our times,

most of us would bristle at being called a Machiavellian.

As we discuss The Discourses, we must try to free ourselves from these perceptions and

take Machiavelli’s project seriously and attempt to appreciate his lasting contributions

to political theory.

Histor ical Context

Machiavelli’s Context: Turmoil, Turmoil, Turmoil!

Important to Remember that “Italy” does not yet exist as Nation State: subject to

internal dissention among city states, foreign domination.

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Middle Ages – Turmoil: Throughout the Middle Ages, Italy was in a state of political

turmoil.

No Dominant Power: the Papacy and Foreign Powers failed to exercise complete

dominion over Italy, so much of the country descended into a kind of anarchy.

Power Vacuum = Violence: The power vacuum allowed local powers to behave as

they saw fit.

Strife Among the Cities – 1350 to 1450: From 1350 to 1450 Italy scarcely knew a

month of peace, as the larger cities seized villages and lesser towns by force and

provoked one another’s enmity with regularity.

Uneasy Equilibrium 1450-1494: By the end of this period, though, the greater city-

states – Florence, Milan, Naples, Venice – had grown weary of endless strife.

No One Strong Enough to Dominate – Peace of Lodi: None of these city-states were

strong enough to invade the other and an uneasy equilibrium of power lasted until

1494.

The French Invade: 1494 - when the French king invaded Italy and precipitated a

series of armed conflicts more terrible than Italy had ever known.

FLORENCE: In Florence, the Medici family had been in power since 1470s.

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1494 - French In, Medici Out: When the French invade, the Medici family is

expelled from Florence.

The Return of the Medici in 1512: The Medici family returned to Italian political

life in 1512 and Machiavelli had intended to dedicate The Prince to Giuliano, who

passed away in 1516, so he dedicated to the young Lorenzo de’ Medici (1492 – 1519),

who apparently Machiavelli hoped could restore Florence (perhaps all of Italy) to

stability (even glory).

THE BIG POINT: Italy was in a state of Chaos – the invasion by the French in

1494 was just the beginning of nearly 400 years of foreign occupation.

EYES ON THE PRIZE – Look Ahead to Chapter 26: In Chapter 26, Machiavelli

says that “Italy has been reduced to a condition of slavery” – “she is at present more

enslaved than the Hebrews, more servile than the Persians, mores dispersed than the

Athenians, without a head, without order, beaten, despoiled, torn, pillaged, and

having endured ruin of every sort.”

Machiavelli Longs for Healing: “One may see how she prays God to send her

someone to redeem her from these barbarous cruelties and insults. One may also see

her ready and disposed to follow a flag, provided that there be someone to pick it

up.”

One Reading of the Relationship between Prince & Discourses

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So That is the Context in Which Machiavelli was Writing.

S i tuating Machiavel l i in the Class

Machiavelli as an Alternative Way of Thinking about Freedom – Plato

Focus on the Political Dimensions of Freedom – Plato: Freedom beyond/above

politics.

Platonic Political Morality: For Plato, Ethics trump Politics – in the Trial & Death,

we see Socrates go to his death in defense of philosophy and justice and in The

Republic, we see Plato’s elaborate attempt to create a political order that will make the

city safe for philosophy.

Plato’s Question: Machiavelli’s Approach to Politics can be best understood by way

of a question suggested by Plato:

What would be the consequences for political thought and action if man’s

condition were that of a permanent resident in the cave?

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In other words, what would be the implications if a man’s whole existence were

defined by a world of fleeting sense impressions and flux, a world having

precious little in the way of a firm foundation for knowledge?

Machiavelli’s Project: Machiavelli’s Political Project is Best Understood as one of a

thinker who believes we cannot escape the Cave.

The Cave = Reality: The Cave = Reality – the only reality we can know, the only

reality that matters.

Open to Chapter 15

Machiavelli’s Approach to Political Theory

Reality-Based: As I noted above, Machiavelli wanted to confront the reality of

politics.

Reality = Flux: The reality of the political world was one of chaos and constant flux.

FORTUNA

Reaches this Conclusion based on History: Machiavelli’s response to the problem of

flux was rooted in History/Empirical Method.

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Machiavelli’s Political “Science” (Art): Instead of timeless Reason, Machiavelli’s

“new” approach to politics found its “certainty” (or at least guidance) in the timeless

examples of greatness preserved in history.

Machiavelli is offering a More Scientific Politics

Behavioralism: Non-Normative Analysis rooted in the firm ground of history is at

the center of political science.

Not an Exact Science: Machiavelli may have tried to view politics through a more

scientific lens, but he recognized it was not an exact science.

Fortuna – Given the vicissitudes of Fortune, and the infinitely variable quantities of

virtu, it is unlikely that Machiavelli thought there were “laws” of political behavior

that could yield exact predictions.

Dynamism of Political Science: Political Science is, of necessity, a dynamic

enterprise.

More Like a Physician than a Physicist: If it is accurate to describe him as a scientist,

he was more like a physician than a physicist, diagnosing his patient’s illness and then

prescribing a remedy based on what has worked in the past.

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Self-Conception: Indeed, he thought of his endeavors in precisely these terms,

comparing the body politic to the human body and likening himself to a doctor

called upon to cure political disorders.

Political Realism

How We Live, Not How We Ought to Live:

Politics concerns how we really live, not how we ought to live.

Reality is All There Is:

If the universe is not governed by Reason or Mind, then effective truth, practical

reality, is all there is.

Scarred Tabula, Not Tabula Rasa:

Unlike Plato, Machiavelli denied himself the escape of legislating for a new colony…

Not writing on a tabula rasa (blank slate), but on a badly scarred tabula.

No Hierarchy of Values, Absolute Morality

There is no hierarchy of the soul, no natural hierarchy of values.

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Machiavelli’s criticism of traditional moral theory was not, as has often been

supposed, founded on cynicism or amorality.

Instead, his concern was, first, to indicate the situations where political action ought

to conform to the standards commonly applied to private conduct.

Because most political situations were unstable and subject to flux, a commonwealth

and a people is governed in a different way from a private individual.

Morality is situational – conditional: not only is it a question of is this the right thing

to do in this situation, but a more fundamental question – can I afford to behave

morally in this situation?

Am I in the Realm of Choice or the Realm of Necessity?

Politics = Realm of Necessity

Throughout The Prince and the Discourses, Machiavelli describes politics as a realm of

necessity – if one wants to “achieve” or “maintain” order (power) in these particular

circumstances, one must act in such and such a way.

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The Prescriptions will not always be moral – circumstances will often direct us to act in

ways that are vicious.

This is not a completely amoral picture – Machiavelli has “Ends” in mind: order,

stability, even glory.

But in order to achieve order, Machiavelli does not place his faith in education (as

Plato does), but in force.

Plato had faith that human nature could be transformed by the political artist.

Machiavelli is less hopeful – politics is not about Art, but about Mastery – human

nature is essentially wicked and so the Prince cannot hope to mold the body politic

into a beautiful sculpture.

Political action could not be a fusion of the personality of the actor with his

materials; political phenomena existed to be mastered and controlled.

Meaning of Political Mastery:

Mastery meant “getting on top” of events by following the double strategy of creating

reliable instruments of action (ARMY) and of making other political actors

dependent on one’s own will (which one could do with Prudence and Foresight).

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When successful, this strategy was equivalent to Machiavelli’s definition of political

power: to possess power was to be able to control and manipulate the actions of

others and thereby to make events conform to one’s wishes.

Politics is a Contact Sport:

Political life is, at bottom, a gladiatorial arena where the strong subdue the weak and

obtain preferential access to a limited number of goods.

The world of politics is depicted as a jungle in which there is no reality but power,

and power is the reward of ruthlessness, ferocity and cunning.

In such a jungle the tyrant is king, and republican ideals – justice, liberty, and

equality – count for little.

Politics has its own Ethics: the whole point of Machiavelli’s argument was to urge

that precisely because of the inescapably autonomous nature of politics, it was all the

more necessary to think about action in the political realm in a different way.

Consequences for Political Theory

We Should Draw from History

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At the beginning of Chapter VI, Machiavelli discusses the value of History for

thinking about Politics: “For since men almost always walk on paths beaten by others

and proceed in their actions by imitation, unable either to stay on the paths of others

altogether or to attain the virtue of those whom you imitate, a prudent man should

always enter upon the paths beaten by great men, and imitate those who have been

most excellent, so that if his own virtue does not reach that far, it is at least in the

odor of it.” 22.

Foundation = Human Nature

Machiavelli offers a very dark picture of human nature.

What do we look for in history?

Human nature – the constancy of human nature ensures that historical incidents

tend to fall into recognizable and repetitive patterns.

Discourses: whoever wishes to see what has to be considers what has been; for all

worldly things in every time have their own counterpart in ancient times. That arises

because these are the works of men, who have and always had the same passions, and

they must of necessity result in the same effect.

Human Nature is what ties the past to the present because it is – by and large – fixed.

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Basic Characteristics of Human Nature – ASK?

Page 5: Envious

Page 15: men never work any good unless through necessity

HUMAN NATURE

“it is necessary to whoever disposes a republic and orders laws in it to presuppose that

all men are bad, and that they always have to use the malignity of their spirit

whenever they have a free opportunity for it,” (15).

“men never work any good unless through necessity, but where choice abounds and

one can make use of license, at once everything is full of confusion and disorder.” 15.

CONSEQUENCES FOR POLITICS

• Aristotle’s Typology of Regimes (just and corrupt versions of each)

Chart 4.1 Types of Regimes According to Aristotle

For the Common Good

For a Partial / Private Good

Rule by one Monarchy Tyranny / Despotism rule of master over slaves

Rule by few Aristocracy rule by the best

Oligarchy rule by few (wealthy)

Rule by many

Polity mixed regime, having

Democracy rule by the people (poor)

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characteristics of all

• Fragility of Political Orders – See his cycle of regimes on 11-12: Prince >

Tyrant > Authority of the Powerful > Oligarchy > Popular Rule >

License > Return anew to Principality

o Politics is Marked by Flux – “all things of men are in motion and

cannot stay steady, they must either rise or fall; and to many things

that reason does not bring you necessity brings you.” 23

o Politics is Marked by Imperfection: “In all human things, he who

examines well sees this: that one inconvenience can never be

suppressed without another’s cropping up.” 21 “in every decision of

ours, we should consider where are the fewer conveniences and take

that for the best policy, because nothing entirely clean and entirely

without suspicion is ever found.” 22

• The FREEDOM of a State refers to both its relation to the external

world and it’s internal form. (More on the Precise meaning below)

Consider How Machiavelli Explains WHY People Want to be FREE on Page 46:

What are the causes that make people desire to be free?

1) a small part of them desires to be free so as to command

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2) all others, who are infinite, desire freedom so as to live secure. They want

“orders and laws” that will guarantee “universal security.”

What Does Freedom Mean?

Independence – Collectively and Individually

Collectively: a free state is a state that does not depend on external forces

for its birth or its maintenance / it is not dominated by a foreign power.

Individually: in order to be free, a citizen must not be dependent on the

will of others.

• Freedom – Security <> Non-Domination by Any One Part – “one

should put on guard over a thing those who have less appetite for

usurping it. Without doubt, if one considers the end of the nobles and of

the commons, one will see great desire to dominate in the former, and in

the latter only desire not to be dominated; and, in consequence, a greater

will to live free, being less able to hope to usurp it than are the great. So

when those who are popular are posted as the guard of freedom, it is

reasonable that they have more care for it, and since they are not able to

seize it, thy do not permit others to seize it.” 18

o Related to the Common Good: For Machiavelli the common good

is the good of citizens who do not want to be oppressed and have no

ambition to dominate. He equates the desire not to be dominated

with the desire to be free…

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o Freedom as Security: What “causes are those that make [peoples]

desire to be free”? “a small part of them desires to be free so as to

command, but all the others, who are infinite, desire freedom so as

to live secure.” … “The others, to whom it is enough to live secure,

are easily satisfied by making orders and laws in which universal

security is included, together with one’s own power.” 46.

o Freedom that is Easily Taken for Granted: “the common utility

that is drawn from a free way of life is not recognized by anyone

while it is possessed: this is being able to enjoy one’s things freely,

without any suspicion, not fearing for the honor of wives and that

of children, not to be afraid for oneself.” 45

FREEDOM IS NOT (Cannot be) Freedom FROM politics.

FREEDOM IS POLITICS.

• Fragility of Freedom (it is an easy thing for a republic to be ruined – 11;

no republic can have so long a life as to be able to pass many times

through these changes and remain on its feet)

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o CORRUPTION – 44: For a people into which corruption has

entered cannot live free, not for a short time or at all, as will be

discoursed of below.”

The Republican Theory of Liberty

A Common View of Freedom: to be free as a member of a civil association is simply

to be unimpeded from exercising your capacities in pursuit of your desired ends.

According to this view of freedom, we say of someone that they lack the freedom to

act in some particular way, this is simply to say that an action within their powers has

been rendered impossible by the intervention of some external force.

The Republican Alternative – A Strongly Contrasting Tradition

The concept of civil liberty is associated with the classical ideal of the civitas libera or

the free state. This theory was a prominent feature of Roman legal and moral

argument, and was revived most prominently by Machiavelli in the Discourses.

Relevance – These Ideas played a Key Role in both the English Challenges to the

Divine Right of Kings in the 17th Century and the American Revolution of the 18th

Century.

Machiavelli & Other Neo-Roman / Republican Theorists

FOCUS ON THE POLITICAL: they concern themselves almost exclusively with the

relationship between the freedom of subjects and the powers of the state. For them

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the central question is always about the nature of the conditions that need to be

fulfilled if the contrasting requirements of civil liberty and political obligation are to

be met as harmoniously as possible.

What is Distinctive About this View?

1) Shared assumption that any understanding of what it means for an individual

citizen to possess or lose their liberty must be embedded within an account of

what it means for a civil association to be free. They use language that focuses

less on the “freedom of the individuals” than on “common liberty” / free

government / free state / liberty of a republic.

2) Take Seriously the Idea of the “Body Politic”: The principal way in which

these writers pursue this metaphor is by examining the sense in which natural

and political bodies are alike capable of possessing and forfeiting liberty. Just as

individual human bodies are free, they argue, if and only if they are able to act

or forbear from acting at will so the bodies of nations and states are likewise

free if and only if they are similarly unconstrained from using their powers

according to their own wills in pursuit of their desired ends. Free states, like

free persons, are thus defined by their capacity for self-government. A Free state

is a community in which the actions of the body politic are – in some sense –

determined by the will of the members as a whole.

OUR TASK is To Figure out the Right Sorts of Laws / Institutions / Norms to

Promote / Protect FREEDOM <> Virtue

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ACTIVE LEARNING EXERCISE: Machiavelli says that if we want to be free, our

task is to figure out what sorts of “laws and orders” promote and protect freedom.

Put another way, he says that examples of virtue (excellent political behavior that, at

least in the republican case, promote freedom) “arise from good education, good

education from good laws….” What would an education and legal system that

promoted and protected freedom look like? In your groups, discuss this question (you

should consider some of Machiavelli’s suggestions as part of your conversation) and

come up with 2 concrete proposals of “good laws and/or good education” that would

promote and protect freedom (you can use what you take to be Machiavelli’s

definition of freedom as your guide or you can alter it if you wish).

Machiavelli’s Response to this Question:

• Institutional Design –

o Division, Power Checking Power: Prudent move = avoid “each of

these modes by itself, choose one that shared all, judging it firmer

and more stable’ for the one guards the other, since in one and the

same city there are the principality, the aristocrats, and the popular

government.

Mixed Government provided different social groups an

adequate place in the republic’s institutional life and ensured

the right balance among different aspects of sovereign power.

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o “Tolerate the Enmities” - Disharmony = OK – “I say that to me it

appears that those who damn the tumults between the nobles and

the plebs blame those things that were the first cause of keeping

Rome free, and that they consider the noises and the cries that

would arise in such tumults more than the good effects that they

engendered. They do not consider that in every republic are two

diverse humors, that of the people and that of the great, and that all

the laws that are made in favor of freedom arise from their

disunion, as can easily be seen to have occurred in Rome.” 16

o Taking Institutional Design & Disharmony Together: “Nor can

any mode, with reason, call a republic disordered….” See 16

o Law plays key role (a happy republic is one with well ordered laws

– 10) “laws make men good” – 15

Example: “every city ought to have its modes with which the

people can vent its ambition, and especially those cities that

wish to avail themselves of the people in important things.” 17

Accusations are Necessary – an outlet is given by which to

vent, in some mode against some citizen, those humors that

grow up in cities --- “So there is nothing that makes a republic

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so stable and steady as to order it in a mode so that those

alternating humors that agitate it can be vented in a way

ordered by the laws.” 24 = see bottom of paragraph as well.

Distinguished from Calumny – 27

o The Law Seems to Have Taken the Place of the Emphasis on

Leadership Found in the Prince (Prince as Short-Term vs.

Discourse as Long-Term Plan): see Page 32-33 – “Thus, let a prince

put before himself the times from Nerva to Marcus…

o Moderate Size / Formidability: “I would well believe that to make a

republic… 22 ---- #

• Virtue – The price of liberty is vigilance (Common good as a motivation

vs. Common Good as a By-Product)