Machiavelli - The Discourses on Livy | Political Philosophy

In the Discourses on Livy, Machiavelli argued that the common people rather than a Prince were the best defenders of a republic.

[nabeelmk]

probably the best summary video of this book on Youtube - thank you!

[MissCaraMint]

The Prince is an extended job aplication to the Medici. Yet it is his most famous work. Discourses is the better book if you want to know his real and compleat thoughts. It does kinda require reading the first five or so books by the Roman historian Livy though to really get.

[justdesi]

Thank you. Great video. Succinct and just what I was looking for when I started reading and realized I had no clue about the background but didn’t want to go off on too many discussions and tangents but needed some clarifying info

[daozenrod]

Thank you. I enjoyed your presentation on the Discourses.

[ingridhudson]

Very good explanation of differences between the thought and reasons for writing the Prince and the Discourses as well as the development of his overall understanding of what he sees as politically for the best

[mike]

4:45 Machiavelli realizes it's wrong to ditch his friends for the cool kids, lol very funny. I've thought Rousseau was also kissing butt

[callum]

I clicked on this video for an overview before the reading and then you said you're a lecturer at the university I go to! (Streatham campus though)

[sukosuko]

Nice video, living in hk amid the turmoil here, the current system is heavily based on what Discourses described as the aristorcracy / oliogarchy and perhaps the average citizens feel disenfranchised. history repeats!. Can see now how a stable system needs all 3 forms just as he described way back in the 1500s.

"principality, aristocracy, and democracy, all good forms. Each, however, is remarkably similar to a malevolent twin, called tyranny, oligarchy, and anarchy, and the virtuous governments easy deteriorated into their malevolent forms"

[MrHejke]

"the underlying political morality of the two books is thus the same. The only change in Machiavelli's basic stance arises out of the changing focus of his political advice. Whereas he was mainly concerned in The Prince with shaping the conduct of individual princes, he is more concerned in the Discourses with offering his counsel to the whole body of the citizens. The assumptions underlying his advice, however, remain the same as before."

That political morality can be sum up to: the goal of the ruler/or ruling class is to keep and expand its power by whatever means including lies, terror, deception, genocide etc.

[cmbr]

Not ‘the ends justifies the means, but means determines the ends’. The phrases are not equal. Political objectives that fail to affirm and attend to stated promises will always falter and die. It is the same as setting a goal, determining objectives and then adjusting the goal when it is one of the objectives is found to have weakness. The Medici letter has always seemed satirical to me, and the rest of the advice column describing how a prince should act confirms my suppositions. You may have a Republic or God but not both.; likewise a person may prefer a democracy and have both.

[coriejoelsutherland]

Why did you show Lorenzo ‘il magnifico’ de Medici when you talked about a strong military leader? Lorenzo was not the focus of the prince.

[xippetotectheflayedgod]

Which edition of this book would you recommend?

[loganm]

Meanwhile we are considered "civilized" by not following any of these. What a wicked world

[armanbath]

this man made videos to help the people and then peaced out. the jesus christ of the 21st century.

[sethwilliams]

When you thought Machiavelli portrays civic virtue as a selfish desire of each citizens’ contributions in a system of governance guided by laws..

[salvatoremazzone]

Machiavelli mentions Discourses on Livy in his introductory dedication to The Prince, so I wouldn't look at this work as being redemptive or in anyway a response to his more famous work.