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'A ripping read ... fascinating, charming, enjoyably unorthodox'
Daily Telegraph Was Niccolo Machiavelli really the cynical schemer
of legend - or was he a profound ethical thinker, who tried to save
the democratic freedom of Renaissance Florence as it was threatened
by ruthless dynasties? This revelatory biography shows us a man of
fox-like dissimulation: a master of disguise in dangerous times. 'A
gripping portrait of a brilliant political thinker, who understood
the dangers of authoritarianism and looked for ways to curb them'
The New Yorker 'Compelling ... this unconventional biography
questions whether the philosopher deserves his reputation as an
advocate for tyranny' Julian Baggini, Financial Times
"Machiavelli's Ethics" challenges the most entrenched
understandings of Machiavelli, arguing that he was a moral and
political philosopher who consistently favored the rule of law over
that of men, that he had a coherent theory of justice, and that he
did not defend the "Machiavellian" maxim that the ends justify the
means. By carefully reconstructing the principled foundations of
his political theory, Erica Benner gives the most complete account
yet of Machiavelli's thought. She argues that his difficult and
puzzling style of writing owes far more to ancient Greek sources
than is usually recognized, as does his chief aim: to teach readers
not how to produce deceptive political appearances and rhetoric,
but how to see through them. Drawing on a close reading of Greek
authors--including Thucydides, Xenophon, Plato, and
Plutarch--Benner identifies a powerful and neglected key to
understanding Machiavelli.
This important new interpretation is based on the most
comprehensive study of Machiavelli's writings to date, including a
detailed examination of all of his major works: "The Prince, The
Discourses, The Art of War, " and "Florentine Histories." It helps
explain why readers such as Bacon and Rousseau could see
Machiavelli as a fellow moral philosopher, and how they could view
"The Prince" as an ethical and republican text. By identifying a
rigorous structure of principles behind Machiavelli's historical
examples, the book should also open up fresh debates about his
relationship to later philosophers, including Rousseau, Hobbes, and
Kant.
Really Existing Nationalisms challenges the conventional view that
Marx and Engels lacked the theoretical resources needed to
understand nationalism. It argues that the two thinkers had a much
better explanatory grasp of national phenomena than is usually
supposed, and that the reasoning behind their policy towards
specific national movements was often subtle and sensitive to the
ethical issues at stake. Instead of offering an insular 'Marxian'
account of nationalism, the book identifies arguments in Marx and
Engels' writings that can help us to think more clearly about
national identity and conflict today. These arguments are located
in a distinctive theory of politics, which enabled the authors to
analyse the relations between nationalism and other social
movements and to discriminate between democratic, outward-looking
national programmes and authoritarian, ethnocentric nationalism.
Erica Benner suggest that this approach improves on accounts which
stress the `independent' force of nationality over other concerns,
and on those that fail to analyse the complex motives of
nationalist actors. She concludes by criticising these
'methodological nationalist' assumptions and 'post-nationalist'
views about the future role of nationalism, showing how some of
Marx and Engels' arguments can yield a better understanding of the
national movements that have emerged in the wake of 'really
existing socialism'. This new edition includes a new introduction.
Why did Machiavelli write the Prince - and why did religious and
political authorities find it so threatening? Five hundred years
on, this book tries to answer these questions. In the first
detailed, chapter-by-chapter reading of the Prince in any language,
Erica Benner shows that the book is a masterpiece of ironic
writing. Machiavelli's style is deliberately ambiguous: he often
seems to say one thing, but gives readers clues that point toward a
very different message. Beyond its 'Machiavellian' surface, the
Prince has a surprisingly moral purpose. It teaches readers how to
recognize hidden dangers in political conduct that merely appears
great or praiseworthy - and to mistrust promises of easy solutions
to political problems. This highly engaging new interpretation
helps readers to see beyond the Prince's deceptive first
appearances. Benner sets out Machiavelli's main ironic techniques
at the outset, especially his coded use of words to signal praise
or blame. Once readers become familiar with these codes, they will
find it easier to grasp the Prince's surreptitiously pro-republican
message - and its powerful critique of charismatic one-man rule and
imperial politics.
This is an impressive re-examination of the theories of Marx and
Engels on nationalism. The author challenges the conventional view
that Marx and Engels lacked the theoretical resources needed to
understand nationalism. It argues that the two men had a much
better explanatory grasp of national phenomena than is usually
supposed, and that the reasoning behind their policy towards
specific national movements was often subtle and sensitive to the
ethical issues at stake. Instead of offering an insular Marxian'
account of nationalism, the book identifies arguments in Marx and
Engels' writings that can help us to think more clearly about
national identity and conflict today. These arguments are located
in a distinctive theory of politics, which enabled the authors to
analyse the relations between nationalism and other social
movements and to discriminate between democratic, outward-looking
national programmes and authoritarian, ethnocentric nationalism.
The book suggest that this approach improves on accounts which
stress the independent' force of nationality over other concerns,
and on thos that fail to analyse the complex motives of nationalist
actors. This book is i
Since the publication of The Prince five centuries ago, Machiavelli
has been associated with political amorality. But that
characterization is unfair. In Be Like the Fox, Erica Benner sets
the record straight: far from the ruthless "Machiavellian" henchman
that people think he was, Machiavelli emerges here as a profound
ethical thinker who fought to uphold high moral standards and
restore the democratic freedoms of his beloved Florence. Shaking
the dust from history, Benner masterfully interweaves Machiavelli's
words with those of his friends and enemies, giving us a biography
with all the energy of fiction. Through dialogues and diaries, we
witness dramatic episodes, including Savonarola's fiery sermons
against the elite in Florence's piazza, Machiavelli's secret
negotiations with Caterina Sforza at the court of Forli, and the
Florentines' frantic preparations to resist Pope Julius's plan to
over-throw their Republic. Benner relates how Machiavelli rose as
an advisor in the Florentine Republic, advancing the city's
interests as a diplomat and military strategist, only to become a
political pariah when the Republic was defeated. His egalitarian
politics made him an enemy of the Medici family, and his secular
outlook put him at odds with religious zealots. But he soon learned
to mask his true convictions, becoming a great artist of foxlike
dissimulation. Machiavelli's masterpiece, The Prince, was in fact a
critique of princely power, but the critique had to be veiled,
written as it was after the Medici triumphed over the Republic. In
Be Like the Fox, the most accurate and compelling portrait of
Machiavelli yet, Benner recounts the gripping story of a brilliant
political thinker, showing that Machiavelli's ideas-about
democratic institutions, diplomacy, and freedom-are more important
than ever.
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