Episode #95- How Machiavellian was Machiavelli? (Part II)
Our Fake History
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Machiavelli - The Book Is Not About How Things Should Be
This passage gives an important insight into why machiavelli was so shocking in his time. Every well known piece of political philosophy in the european tradition, be it plato, aristotle, cicero or saint augustine, had been about how s should be. All of these writers imagined perfect worlds or perfect governments that we should aspire to create. To a modern person, this idea doesn't feel all that scandalous. I read that section as clearly stating that he doesn't think princely politics are in some way good or just or the best way to do things. His advice is just effective in the scenario of being a new prince.
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