MC 390

MC 390
Professor: Eric Petrie
Books: Machiavelli’s Florentine Histories/Discourses on Livy and other material by Leo Strauss, Harvey Mansfield, and others.

When Professor Petrie entered class the first day, he set up for us a three-part class. First, we were to read the Florentine Histories to get an understanding of how Rome’s form of government has changed and how new ways of ruling have arisen in Florence, the major power of the Renaissance. Second, we were to review Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (Livy being the author of Rome’s Histories that we read in MC 272). This was to get us to see Machiavelli’s new regime he proposes for the new world. Third, we were to get to know more about the European Union and see if it aligns with Machiavelli’s proposed regime. This was a very tall order, and we all knew there was no way we were going to get to everything, but it was a refreshing difference from MC 272’s plan: learn how ancient Rome is different from us.

After finishing the course, we had good discussions on how Florence’s power is different than Rome’s and we learned all about Machiavelli’s new regime (Petrie’s favorite subject). We had a lecture and some material on the EU, but we hardly covered it at all. So, this is what I learned...

First is how Rome differs from Florence. When Rome was founded by Romulus, the city was given a myth that he was found in the forest suckling on a she-wolf, as if he was chosen by the gods to found Rome and Rome was destined to be great. Rome’s citizens were given the duty to protect the city with their life, and when great deeds were shown by any citizen, the populous was quick to praise. The reverse was also true, if a man demonstrated too much ambition, the plebs quickly turned against him until his public life was destroyed. The people’s deep passion for Rome was given new meaning when it was turned into a Republic and more power was given to the plebs. Faction began to plague Rome between the elite nobles and the plebs. The nobles felt that they had the right to rule because of their knowledge beyond the common man and their family blood line. The plebs thought that this was ridiculous and that they had every right to rule as well. This led to the Tribunate (kind of like our modern version of the House of Representatives -- it represents the people while the Senate is supposed to represent the elites). The only thing that could hold back the plebs was war, and the ability to rally all of Rome against a common enemy. Political leaders had to find ways to give to the public in order to gain power, but this often turned against them as their deeds were seen as mischievous. Over time, the people used their position in government to take more and more power from the nobles until they had a Caesar, one man that most liked to rule the entire kingdom. As dictators by blood line are never as good over time as a republic where the pool for talented rulers is larger, Rome began to fall because of its rulers’ inability to continue expansion and unite its people.

The power of Rome derived from its political system and the people’s ties to it. Rome decided to go to war because their state was under attack. If a Roman wanted to to gain power, he had to give to the people what they wanted: a monument to their god or some power in their government. Rome had an armed citizenry and a standing army at all times. It was able to dominate because it had its own physical power that it controlled. This armed citizenry also fought for honor, and if they returned victorious, they would be a hero and could gain political power.

Florence is a completely different beast. Machiavelli writes that Florence, having extreme factions beyond that of Rome, could have become the greatest power known to man. It could not unite these factions under one ruling order, and thus failed at becoming as great or greater than Rome. What is immediately interesting about this is the idea of greater factions leading to more power in the state. We often see faction between Democrats and Republicans as demonstrations of weakness -- America’s inability to get its act together and get something done. Machiavelli believes that these factions are what gives a republic strength. Instead of having a uniting political power, however, Florence had ruling merchants and guilds that became famously wealthy. The competing families often competed with each other and built huge cathedrals to demonstrate its wealth.

One family in particular was the Medici family. Think The Godfather on steroids. Here we have Giovanni Medici. He grew up with little but was able to start gaining wealth through banking. He was known for being extremely prudent and benevolent. These traits led his business to grow as more trusted members joined his bank. When people owed him money, he did not demand it, but instead had The Godfather speech: “there may be a time that I will ask you for help, that time may never come, but I expect you to help.” Giovanni’s son, Cosimo Medici, took all of Giovanni’s strengths and added a lot of ambition. The other wealthy families of Florence turned against him, but Cosimo began making deals with the political leaders and Cosimo turned the Medici family into the de facto rulers of Florence where his bank became the greatest in all of Italy. Today you see the Medici coat of arms everywhere in Florence. Even when you travel to Pisa, Venice, and Rome, you see the Medici’s “balls,” their coat of arms.

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Machiavelli is ultimately disappointed in the Medici what is assumed to be because they didn’t turn Florence into a Republic that could have rulers beyond their blood line. The Medici rule did not last long, and it did not unite Florence into a large power. Reasons for this go beyond the lack of a Republic. Florence did not hold its own army; it relied on other armies and mercenaries to battle for it. These armies were very weak, not because of their size or weaponry, but because they held no attachment to Florence and were not willing to die for it. Florence’s power was ultimately money and its ability to commission anything it wanted. The lack of political unity meant there lacked political power, so all power was through the merchants and guilds who could attract talent. One last reason why Florence was not able to become powerful is Christianity.

Machiavelli was fascinated with Christianity and its ability to become stronger when attacked. Christianity had no army and yet the Pope could walk into a state and declare it tyrannical, and the armed king would do nothing to resist and give up his power. In fact, the King’s guards would turn against him and side with the Pope. If a Christian leader was killed, he would often become a martyr and praised. Killing Christians only strengthened Christianity. This power was completely new and propelled Machiavelli to propose a new regime that could act like Christianity: Modern Western Republics.

Machiavelli’s idea starts with the assumption that the plebs will win. You must give all political power to the people and find other ways of controlling society, otherwise you risk creating a dictator like Rome. The easiest way to establish this republic is to “kill the sons of Brutus,” or “cut the nobles to pieces.” You must destroy every power in your way like Cosimo did, but then do it in the name of the people, and give all power to the people. From here, faction will automatically arise amongst the people fighting over who will rule granting the republic power -- a tie to the state. In Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” he write that when a prince confronts a republic, the only thing that you can do to ensure your rule is to kill every person in that republic. This is because they have tasted liberty and will die defending it. The people thus have their tie to the state and are willing to fight for it, even to die for their freedom (sound familiar?). Now, because elites will always be contending for power, the only way they can gain power is to appeal to the people. This regime must be created in a way where everyone’s efforts add to the whole. Instead of Florence where everyone gained for their own ambition, the new regime must have citizens that gain to benefit the state. Thus enters our modern liberal society where everyone’s efforts pool together to strengthen the state.

This new regime dreamt by Machiavelli came out of his frustrations with Florence and its inability to unite its factions, and his love of Rome. Rome didn’t quite do it right, however, as it needed to assume the people would win, and give them all power. It was the beginning to ideas like the modern corporation, the liberal society, and the United States of America. My next class, MC 371 will discuss the modern problems/fears of the liberal society. So we will see how far Machiavelli took us and where we can go from here. We are living in Machiavelli’s world.