Restless Classics presents a trenchant new edition of Machiavelli’s most powerful works of political philosophy, including The Prince and selections from Discourses on Livy, introduced by New Yorker writer and biographer of Che Guevara Jon Lee Anderson.
Few authors achieve such notoriety that their name becomes an adjective. A ‘Machiavellian” politician is not simply one who is conniving; the term also refers to a tyrant who is enamored with all the power he (it is usually a “he”) can attain. With so many Machiavellian politicians on the world stage today—Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Mohammed bin Salman, Viktor Orbán, Jair Bolsonaro, et alia—Machiavelli’s masterpieces The Prince and Discourses on Livy are at once timely and eternal.
Widely held as a foundational work of modern political philosophy, The Prince can be read as a practical guide for ruling or a satirical guide on how not to rule. Machiavelli prefaces the book with a letter addressed to Lorenzo de’ Medici, the infamous ruler of Florence, both admonishing and praising him for his governance. The sister volume, Discourses on Livy, offers an analysis of ancient Roman history that supports Machiavelli’s claims by lauding the merits of a republic.
As Jon Lee Anderson explores in his incisive introduction, Machiavelli’s hard-line outlook on power, politics, war, governance, and ethics has frightening parallels to the current trend toward authoritarianism in our global politics. Machiavelli: On Politics and Power is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the psychology and methods of power-hungry leaders, past and present.
İçerik tablosu
Introduction by Jon Lee Anderson
Artist’s Statement
Chronology
The Prince
Discourses on Livy
A Guide for Restless Readers
Suggestions for Further Reading
Yazar hakkında
Jon Lee Anderson has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1998. He has covered numerous conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, reported frequently from Latin America and the Caribbean, and written profiles of Augusto Pinochet, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, and Gabriel García Márquez. He is the author of several books, including The Lion’s Grave: Dispatches from Afghanistan, Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life, Guerillas: Journeys in the Insurgent World, and The Fall of Baghdad.Jon Lee Anderson ha sido redactor de planta de la revista The New Yorker desde 1998. Ha cubierto numerosos conflictos en Oriente Medio y África, ha publicado reportajes frecuentes sobre Ámerica Latina y el Caribe, y ha escrito perfiles de Augusto Pinochet, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez y Gabriel García Márquez, entre otros.