My notes on Machiavelli Econ 496, Classical Theories of Political Economy with Raj Arunachalam

1. Liz Swarthout
Econ 496 with Raj Arunachalam
Machiavelli
1. Historical Context
a. Italy was split into city-states. The largest/most important were: Milan, Venice,
Florence, Naples, and the Papal States. (Machiavelli was from Florence.)
i. Naples was a kingdom that was under the rule of the king of France, even
though it actually governed itself.
b. 1484 (?) Sforza (Milan) invited King Charles VIII to go through his land to lay claim to
Naples.
i. Sforza wanted chaos so he could take over the other states. Sforza takes down
the Medici’s of Florence by this.
ii. The other Italian states joined together to get rid of the huge French army, so
King Charles VIII decides he doesn’t really care about Naples, and he leaves.
c. 1499 King Louis of France decides that now he really wants Naples.
i. Venice sides with France and encourages France to take down Sforza’s army in
Milan.
1. Sforza had an army of mercenaries, who decided that they could not
fight their countrymen, so they surrendered to the French.
ii. So Florence allies itself with the French until they decide to leave in 1513.
d. 1513 The French decide to leave Italy
i. The Medici’s come back into power in Florence.
2. Biographical Information on Machiavelli
a. B. 1469, D. 1527
b. Was a high ranking official in Florence
c. After the Medici’s return to power in 1513, they torture Machiavelli and exile him to his
rural estate. That is when he wrote The Prince.
3. The Model of The Prince
a. Machiavelli’s advice to princes/leaders
i. No mercenaries
ii. Study war
iii. Cultivate a reputation
iv. Play groups against each other ( ie nobles and other people)
v. Don’t touch people’s stuff
b. Machiavelli’s goals
i. Keep the prince in power as long as possible
ii. Other possible goals
1. People should benefit
2. Italian Unification
c. Machiavelli’s logical process

2. i. Historical examples
ii. Human Nature
d. Potential flaws in Machiavelli’s logical process
i. Is his image of human nature correct?
1. Are people like this? Or just the people Machiavelli knows (nobles)?
ii. Is his image of people as deceiving and deceivable contradictory?
iii. Is human nature inherent, or is it dependent on how princes treat people?