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 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
action adversaries Agathocles already analysis appears argument army become bourgeoisie brings Brutus Cesare Borgia Chapter citizens command condottieri confidence conflict corruption critique Decemvirate Decius defined definition desire difficulty discover division doubt enemy Epaminondas established example experience fact field figure find first Florence Florentine force Fortune freedom function give Gonfalonier Grandees idea IDEOLOGYl AND INTERPRETATION illusion impossible institutions interrogation Italy knowledge limits Livy Machia Machiavelli maintain Manlius meaning Medici military modified movement nature necessity object oeuvre once one’s opposition plebs political position possible praise present prince’s principle question reader READING THE DISCOURSES READING THE PRINCE recognize reflection regime relation representation republic Republic of Florence revealed Roman Roman Republic Rome ruse Samnites Savonarola seems significance social society Soderini Sparta speak specific subjects suffice things thought tion true truth tyranny understand virtu word writer Xenophon