MACHIAVELLI on REPUBLICS & POWER

In this lecture we explore Machiavelli's writings on republicanism in The Prince and Discourses on Livy to find that he was interested more in power than liberty and believed that republics had the ability to achieve greater power than any other political form in existence.

0:00-3:56 - Introduction to Machiavelli's Political Theory
3:56-7:35 - Conflict and Politics
7:35-11:11 - Why Republics are Superior to Monarchies
11:11-14:02 - Machiavelli, Republics, and Power
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Paul Krause is the editor-in-chief of VoegelinView. He is a writer, classicist, and historian. He has written on the arts, culture, classics, literature, philosophy, religion, and history for numerous publications in the English-speaking world. He is the author of Finding Arcadia (2023), The Odyssey of Love (2021), and the Politics of Plato (2020); he has also contributed to The College Lecture Today (2019) and Making Sense of Diseases and Disasters (2022).
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[mohammedraheef]

Just checked out your channel, and it pains me to see the low engagement. Fake till you make it really is a sad reality that empowers the undeserving around us. Your content is academic par excellence.

[TheExceptionalState]

Grazie per questo. Devo leggere sopra i poeti crepuscolari come parte del mio corso in italiano e Machiavelli é una persona molto interessante da questa prospettiva. Mi piace anche molto l'arte che usi.

[WiseNationalSocialism]

Buying your book!
Please keep up the good work!

[clumsydad]

when the spiritual dominion of your times has its own army, i guess you lean towards power over providence in your political orientation - be pragmatic or die, the lowest common denominator of game theory. trust to conflict to trust to conflict ... i guess kissinger deserves some credit for emphasizing detente and shuttle diplomacy - humans quickly become maniacal and paranoid in isolation, only in social engagement do we resurrect our better natures. overall, diversity of peoples without acceptance of diversity of thinking/values will lead to tyranny. but yes, machiavelli was at the center of a revolution of civilization, so his thinking is specific to that historicity. power makes crude sense, until the apocalyptic technologies of the 20th century and the shrinkage of the world push 500 year old thinking to an existential crisis.

[cliffordbates]

Marsilius of Padua a defender or advocate of absolute rule??? Not sure about that. Ya, he sided with the Emperor vs. the Pope and papal claims to a "plenitude of power" in affairs of both church and state but he was a defender of the popular republic vs any claim of absolute rule.

[jeremyg]

So what you’re saying is that republics have a higher ability for tyranny because they become like a religion for the people’s ego. You can become overtly authoritarian because the people believe it’s for their sake?

And therefore this grants the state better competitive advantage?

I can see the ideal upheld in monarchism but the practical benefit of the myth of an ideal republic fooling the people.