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What does it truly mean to pursue power—and what are the costs for those who seek or resist it?
Studies in Machiavellian Political Philosophy gathers Michael Anton’s work on the founder of modern political thought and his enduring influence on the Western tradition. Concentrating on The Prince, but also traversing the Discourses, the Florentine Histories, Xenophon’s Memorabilia, Montesquieu’s Considerations, and The Federalist, this book attempts to unpack the true gravity of the Italian philosopher’s ambitious political and philosophic project.
Anton also explores the spiritual and psychological dimensions of Machiavellian teaching through examinations of war, propaganda, friendship, and the enduring tension between philosophy and political power. His scholarship, informed by the works of Leo Strauss, Harvey Mansfield, and Leo Paul S. de Alvarez highlights important and hitherto under-explained dimensions to Machiavelli’s philosophy and art of writing, as well as the enduring influence of the ancients on the American Founding.
This book further explores the recurring dilemma at the heart of all politics: the allure—and the danger—of ambition, and the timeless struggle between spiritual ideals and pragmatic necessity. It is within this tension that Machiavelli’s reimagination of conquest, virtue, and prudent statecraft helps forge a new path for effectual truth and practical action.
Fluidly written and intellectually rigorous, Studies in Machiavellian Political Philosophy is essential for students, theorists, and anyone intrigued by the foundational problems and possibilities of political life.
—Devin Stauffer, University of Texas, Austin
For many years I have profited from reading Michael Anton’s writing on the great political philosopher Machiavelli. Anton partakes of the wisdom and wit of Machiavelli’s writings with the result that even when not entirely persuaded, I found his interpretations both illuminating and amusing.
—Nathan Tarcov, University of Chicago, Co-translator of Machiavelli's Discourses
The title of this diverse and engaging collection of thirteen essays is fully justified by the fact that they all deal, if sometimes indirectly, with the thought of Niccolò Machiavelli—its antecedents, its character, its manifold effects over time. The studies included here are learned, perceptive, and often provocative, their author being a sure-handed, witty guide through the history of modern political philosophy. Studies in Machiavellian Political Philosophy also has the additional advantage, precious because rare, of never being boring: agree or disagree, but readers will be enticed to see what comes next.
—Robert C. Bartlett, Boston College
In this impressive volume, Anton makes many—Machiavelli would say ‘infinite’—fine observations without taking his eye off the main chance: Machiavelli’s grand enterprise.
—Christopher Lynch, Missouri State University, Translator of Machiavelli's Art of War
Witty, erudite, and, on occasion, speculative in the extreme, Michael Anton’s essays on Machiavelli; on his predecessor Xenophon; and on his successors Montesquieu, Publius, and Marx, as well as his discussion of the commentaries on the Florentine penned by Leo Strauss, Harvey Mansfield, and Leo Paul de Alvarez, and his attempt to grapple with the question of Machiavelli’s contribution to the modern crisis of the West—especially, as this has come to light in California (the author’s one true love)—are provocative, stimulating, and even informative. The piece on California alone is worth the book’s price.
—Paul Rahe, Hillsdale College