Niccolo Machiavelli

With "The Prince", Machiavelli made his name synonymous with intrigue and cunning for all time. His instructions to the Prince, on achieving and maintaining power, by any and all means available, became the archetypical philosophy of The Ends Justify The Means. Machiavelli advocated that political expediency supersedes morality and that success, by any means, is its own justification. His cold, calculating logic sweeps aside and dismisses all arguments against the use of every manner of deceit and dishonesty for a ruler to achieve his ends on the basis that those ends, once achieved, are, in themselves, sufficient justification. Not only does Machiavelli make philosophical arguments for his viewpoint, he gives numerous practical examples of behavior, which are generally considered to be both ruthless and invariably successful. For nearly 500 years, politicians of all stripes have found that in ignoring Machiavelli's views they become easy prey to those who are willing to employ Machiavellian methods. Machiavelli is considered by many to be the Father of Modern Political Theory. His influence has been immense and his writings, particularly "The Prince", will undoubtedly continue to influence many generations to come.

Die 'Discorsi' sind das grundlegende Werk Machiavellis. Hier entwickelt er seine Gedanken über die Politik. Machiavellis politische Erfahrung gründet sich auf eine einzigartige Folge von Umwälzungen und Verfassungsexperimenten innerhalb weniger Jahre in Florenz nach dem Tod Lorenzo de Medicis.

Niccol? Machiavellis 1532 erschienene Schrift ? Il Principe? ist unter dem Titel ? Der Fürst? Weltliteratur geworden. In seiner Radikalität, in seiner scharfen Trennung zwischen rein politischem Handeln und den Entscheidungen des Einzelnen, überstrahlt Machiavellis Werk die politiktheoretischen Schriften aller seiner Zeitgenossen. Machiavelli will klären, ?was das oberste politischen Amt sei, wie viele Arten es davon gibt, wie und wann man es behält, und wie und wann man es verliert?. Es geht ihm dabei um die Herrschaftsbildung und Herrschaftssicherung, um die Bewahrung des principato. Sämtliche Handlungen des Fürsten werden an ihrem politischen Zweck der Erhaltung der Herrschaft gemessen. Entscheidend für den Erfolg ist nicht der moralische Wert sondern allein die Wirkung des Verhaltens. Dieser ausschließlich erfolgsorientierte amoralische Zweckrationalismus war es, der viel seiner Zeitgenossen zutiefs verstörte. Schon vor Jahrhunderten wurde ? Machiavellismus? zu einem Synonym für Verschlagenheit und Hinterlist, für Amoral und Rücksichtslosigkeit in der Politik. Man hat sich angewöhnt, jede skrupellose Machtpolitik als ?machiavellistisch? zu bezeichnen, jene berühmte oder vielmehr berüchtigte ? Realpolitik ?, die sich auf Machiavellis ? Il Principe? berufen zu können glaubt. Jedes Jahrhundert hat Machiavellis Schrift anders ausgelegt. In jüngster Zeit wurde sie, wie viele andere Klassiker der Staats- und Kriegskunst auch, erfolgreich von der Managementlehre adaptiert. Ob unternehmerische Führungsstrategien oder persönliche Karriereplanung, an Machiavellis und Anti-Machiavellis herrscht auf dem Buchmarkt kein Mangel. Dennoch lohnt sich ein Blick ins Original, denn ? Der Fürst? ist eine realistische, und in seiner Art zeitlose Diagnose der Politik, in der die Interessen des Staates stets Vorrang vor allen ethischen Überlegungen hatten.

Machiavelliâ??s highly influential treatise on political power 'It is far safer to be feared than loved...' The Prince shocked Europe on publication with its advocacy of ruthless tactics for gaining absolute power and its abandonment of conventional morality.

Machiavelli's 16th-century comedic classic. Callimaco wishes to bed Lucrezia, though she is the wife of the aging Nicia. Consequently trickery and deceit are in order if Callimaco is to obtain his desire. A plan is hatched involving a plant, the "mandragola," with supposedly magical powers. Nicia is fooled, but will Lucrezia prove as gullible? "So you don't think Machiavelli had a sense of humor? Then go see the rollicking production of his comedy MANDRAGOLA at the Shakespeare Theater ... MANDRAGOLA, adapted by Peter Maloney, is filled not only with Machiavelli's rather questionable wisdom, but with a surprising amount of wit ... If comedy seems an unlikely m tier for Machiavelli, the action of MANDRAGOLA is of the any-means-to-an-end variety ... These days, when Machiavellian strategy is being taken all too seriously, it's refreshing to laugh at the old boy." -J. Wynn Rousuck, The Sun, Washington, DC "A naughty comedy by that great Italian Renaissance guy, Machiavelli ... performed with great flair and precision ... a very funny, bawdy play ... a farce about lust, both physical and financial ... A hilarious and lively visit to the streets and gutters of 16th century Florence." -Jane Horwitz, WTTG TV, Washington, DC "Machiavelli's realistic and unflattering opinion of human nature, expressed most notably in his classic The Prince, is given full voice here, but to obvious farcical effect." -American Theater "In this Renaissance sex-comedy human greed is the motor which drives the characters to chase each other around and around during a day and a night in old Florence." -Play Source, Theatre Communications Group

Discourses on Livy (1531) is as essential to an understanding of Machiavelli as his famous treatise, The Prince. Equally controversial, it reveals his fundamental preference for a republican state. Comparing the practice of the ancient Romans with that of his contemporaries provided Machiavelli with a consistent point of view in all his works. Machiavelli's close analysis of Livy's history of Rome led him to advance his most original and outspoken view of politics - the belief that a healthy body politic was characterized by social friction and conflict rather than by rigid stability. His discussion of conspiracies in Discourses on Livy is one of the most sophisticated treatments of archetypal political upheaval every written. In an age of increasing political absolutism, Machiavelli's theories became a dangerous ideology. This new translation is richly annotated, providing the contemporary reader with sufficient historical, linguistic, and political information to understand and interpret the revolutionary affirmations Machiavelli made, based on the historical evidence he found in Livy. The complete Livy in English, available in five volumes from Oxford World's Classics. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.