Machiavelli in the MakingIn Machiavelli in the Making, the influential French scholar and public intellectual Claude Lefort introduces a wholly novel interpretation of Niccoló Machiavelli's oeuvre, revealing in the Florentine's thought a thoroughly modern concept of the political with implications for "our experience of politics here and now." Lefort extricates Machiavelli's thought from the dominant interpretations of Machiavelli as the founder of "objective" political science, which, having liberated itself from the religious and moralizing tendencies of medieval political reflection, attempts to arrive at a realistic discourse on the operations of raw power. Lefort ultimately finds that Machiavelli's discourse opens the "place of the political," which had previously been occupied by theology and morality. An essential contribution to the ongoing reassessment of Machiavelli's significance, Machiavelli in the Making also stands as a crucial text for the understanding of Lefort's later writings on democracy and totallitarianism. |
Contents
Part 1 The Question of the Oeuvre | 3 |
Part 2 The Concept of Machiavellianism | 61 |
Part 3 Reading The Prince | 79 |
Part 4 Reading The Discourses | 205 |
Part 5 The Oeuvre Ideology and Interpretation | 427 |
Notes | 505 |
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Common terms and phrases
able action adversaries Agathocles already analysis appears argument army become beginning bourgeoisie brings Brutus Cesare Borgia Chapter citizens command condottieri conflict conquest corruption critique danger Decemvirate desire discover division doubt enemy Epaminondas established evil example experience fact faith Florence Florentine force Fortune freedom function give Gonfalonier Grandees idea IDEOLOGY illusion impossible institutions intention interpretation interrogation Italy knowledge limits Livy Machia Machiavelli maintain Manlius meaning Medici modern movement nature necessity Niccolò Machiavelli object observe oeuvre once one’s opposition ourselves plebs political position possible praise present principle question reader READING THE DISCOURSES READING THE PRINCE reason recognize regime relation representation Republic of Florence revealed Roman Republic Rome ruse Samnites Savonarola seems signs social society Soderini Sparta speak subjects things thought tion tradition true truth tyranny understand violence virtù virtue word writer Xenophon