POL200Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Pope Leo X, Brave People, Civics
Document Summary
Human beings located in distinct place in that order. Use nature through human technology to serve human ends. Repudiating the traditional virtues of moderation and restraint. Greed is no longer greed, it is the rational seeking of self interest: capitalism. Machiavelli helped everyone not only break free from notions of natural order, but also break free of natural hierarchy. First european theorist since thuc to recognize and theorize the political power of the people (in the military way, not the egalitarian way) Gave ordinary people access to the world of politics. Over time, these ideas paved the way for the rise of democratic power: machiavelli was shocking to his pious contemporaries, but is familiar to us because we live out his legacy. Dedicatory epistle: dedicated to lorenzo de medici, ruler of florence at the time, grandson of lorenzo the. Magnificent, who ruled florence for 33 years with great success.
