POL 1201 Lecture Notes - Index Librorum Prohibitorum, Category Mistake, Utopia
30 Sep 2013
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2: champion of liberty, teacher of evil. Machiavelli teaches a politics of evil and immorality. Counsels leaders to be willing got set aside religious piety and conventional moral values and virtues, such as honesty, and to recognize the prudence or utility of cruelty, violence, deception, and manipulation. In 1557, the prince was placed on the catholic church"s index librorum prohibitorum, or list of forbidden books: founder of political realism. An objective political analysis distinguishes between facts of the human condition and politics and values or morality and sees these as largely separate. To wield power effectively, one can"t focus on an ideal or imagined utopia but must focus on gritty realities. Rulers should be good if/when they can, but must be prepared to commit vice when circumstances require it.
