Machiavelli Niccolo: philosophy, politics, ideas, views

The Italian writer and philosopher Machiavelli Niccolo was an important statesman in Florence, holding the post of secretary responsible for foreign policy. But much more famous for him brought books written by him, among which the political treatise "Sovereign" stands alone.

Biography of the writer

The future writer and thinker Machiavelli Niccolo was born in a suburb of Florence in 1469. His father was a lawyer. He did his best to get the best education for those times. For this purpose, there was no better place than Italy. The main source of knowledge for Machiavelli was the Latin language, in which he read a huge amount of literature. His books became the works of ancient authors: Josephus Flavius, Macrobius, Cicero, and Titus Livia. The young man was fond of history. Later, these tastes reflected on his own creativity. The key to the writer were the works of the ancient Greeks Plutarch, Polybius and Thucydides.

Machiavelli Niccolo began his public service at a time when Italy suffered from wars between numerous cities, principalities and republics. A special place was occupied by the Pope, who at the turn of the XV and XVI centuries. Was not just a religious pontiff, but also a significant political figure. The fragmentation of Italy and the absence of a single national state made the rich cities of the Apennine peninsula a tasty morsel for other major powers - France, the Holy Roman Empire and the gathering power of colonial Spain. The ball of interests was very difficult, which led to the birth and dissolution of political alliances. Fateful and bright events, witnessed by Machiavelli Niccolo, greatly influenced not only his professionalism, but also his outlook.

Philosophical views

The ideas set forth by Machiavelli in his books significantly influenced the public's perception of politics. The author was the first to examine and describe in detail all models of the behavior of rulers. In the book "The Emperor" he directly stated that the political interests of the state should prevail over agreements and other conventions. Because of this point of view, the thinker is considered an exemplary cynic, who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. He attributed state lack of principle to the service of the supreme good goal.

Niccolo Machiavelli, whose philosophy was born as a result of personal impressions of the state of Italian society at the beginning of the XVI century, not only talked about the benefits of this or that strategy. On the pages of his books he described in detail the structure of the state, the principles of its work and the relationships within this system. The thinker suggested the thesis that politics is a science in which there are laws and rules. Niccolo Machiavelli believed that a person who has mastered this subject perfectly, can predict the future or determine the outcome of a particular process (war, reforms, etc.).

The importance of Machiavelli's ideas

The Florentine writer of the Renaissance introduced into the humanities many new topics for reasoning. His dispute about the appropriateness and compliance with moral norms raised an acute question, over which many philosophical schools and doctrines still argue.

Reasoning about the role of the ruler's personality in history also first appeared from the pen of Niccolo Machiavelli. The ideas of the thinker led him to the conclusion that under feudal disunity (in which, for example, Italy was located), the character of the sovereign supersedes all the power institutions, which harms the inhabitants of his country. In other words, in a fragmented state, paranoia or the weakness of a ruler leads to ten times worse consequences. For his life, Machiavelli saw enough such picturesque examples thanks to the Italian principalities and republics, where the power swung from side to side like a pendulum. Often, such fluctuations led to wars and other disasters, which were most painful for the common people.

Therefore, in his address to his reader, the author complained that the state can not be effective without a rigid central authority. In this case, the system itself compensates for the weaknesses of a weak or incompetent ruler.

History of the Sovereign

It should be noted that the treatise "Sovereign" was written as a classical guide to the application, intended for Italian politicians. This style of presentation made the book unique for its time. It was a carefully systematized work in which all thoughts were presented in the form of abstracts, backed up by real examples and logical reasoning. "Sovereign" was published in 1532, five years after the death of Niccolo Machiavelli. The views of the former Florentine official immediately found a response to the widest public.

The book has become a benchmark for many politicians and statesmen of subsequent centuries. It is actively reprinted to this day and is one of the pillars of the humanities devoted to the society and institutions of power. The main material for writing the book was the experience of the fall of the Florentine Republic, which was experienced by Niccolò Machiavelli. Quotations from the treatise were included in different textbooks, according to which the civil servants of different Italian principalities were taught.

Heredity of power

The author divided his work into 26 chapters, each of which addressed to one or another political issue. Deep knowledge of the history of Niccolo Machiavelli (citations of ancient authors often come across in the pages) allowed to prove their guesses on the experience of the ancient era. For example, he devoted a whole chapter to the fate of the Persian king Darius, captured by Alexander the Great. In his essay, the writer gave an assessment of the collapse of the state and cited several arguments about why the country did not rebel after the death of the young commander.

The question of the types of heredity of power was of great interest to Niccolo Machiavelli. Politics, in his opinion, directly depended on how the throne passed from the predecessor to the successor. If the throne is transferred in a reliable way, the state will not be threatened by distemper and crises. At the same time, the book provides several ways to retain the tyrannical power, authored by Niccolo Machiavelli. In short, the sovereign can move to a new captured territory in order to directly monitor local sentiments. A vivid example of such a strategy was the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when the Turkish sultan moved his capital to this city and renamed it Istanbul.

Preservation of the state

The author tried to explain to the reader in detail how to retain a captured foreign country. For this, according to the theses of the writer, there are two ways - military and peaceful. At the same time, both methods are permissible, and they must be skillfully combined to simultaneously coax and frighten the population. Machiavelli was a supporter of the creation of colonies on the acquired lands (in approximately the same way as the ancient Greeks or Italian maritime republics did). In the same chapter, the author derived a golden rule: the sovereign needs to support the weak and weaken the strong to maintain balance within the country. The absence of powerful opposing movements helps to preserve the power of monopoly on violence in the state, which is one of the main signs of a reliable and stable government.

So described the ways to solve this problem by Niccolo Machiavelli. The writer's philosophy was formed as a combination of his own managerial experience in Florence and historical knowledge.

The role of personality in history

Since Machiavelli paid much attention to the importance of personality in history, he also compiled a short essay on the qualities that an effective sovereign should possess. The Italian writer focused on stinginess, criticizing the generous rulers who spent their coffers for nothing. As a rule, such autocrats are forced to resort to tax increases in case of war or other critical situation, which is extremely irritating to the population.

Machiavelli justified the rigidity of rulers within the state. He believed that this kind of policy helps society to avoid unnecessary disturbances and trouble. If, for example, the Emperor prematurely executes people inclined to rebellion, he will kill several people, while saving the rest of the population from unnecessary bloodshed. In this thesis an example of the author's philosophy is again repeated: the sufferings of individual people are nothing compared to the interests of the whole country.

The need for rigidity of rulers

The Florentine writer often repeated the idea that human nature is impermanent, and most of the people around him are a bunch of weak and greedy creatures. Therefore, continued Machiavelli, it is necessary for the emperor to inspire awe in fear among his subjects. This will keep the discipline inside the country.

As an example, he cited the experience of the legendary ancient commander Hannibal. He with the help of cruelty maintained order in his multinational army, several years of fighting in the Roman foreign land. And this was not tyranny, because even executions and reprisals against those guilty of violating the laws were just, and no one, regardless of their situation, could get immunity. Machiavelli believed that the cruelty of the ruler is justified only if it is not an outright robbery of the population and violence against women.

Death of the thinker

After writing the "Sovereign," the famous thinker spent the last years of his life creating the "History of Florence", in which he returned to his favorite genre. He died in 1527. Despite the posthumous fame of the author, the place of his grave is still unknown.