Machiavelli’s thoughts on politics and forms of government

Introduction

Machiavelli since his early life has been influenced by number of factors which can be seen in his philosophy some of the factors which influenced the thinking and philosophy of Machiavelli deserve mention under the following headings. Conditions in Italy: At the time of Machiavelli the Italian peninsula was divided into a number of small but independent states which were constantly at war.

These states possessed different forms of governments; while some were republics the other were ruled by despotic rulers. No doubt by the beginning of the sixteenth century some sort of consolidation of these states had been achieved but still they were divided into five groups viz. kingdom of Naples.

Machiavelli’s thoughts on politics and forms of government

Territory of Roman Catholic Church, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Florence. Apart from the internal dissension amongst these states there was a serious threat to their existence due to presence of strong states like France and Spain on the borders.

Machiavelli ardently desired to unity these warring states and makes them sufficiently strong so that they could deal with the foreign power effectively. With this end, Machiavelli wrote books like Art of War, the Discourse on Livy and the Prince in which he laid down the principles which he wanted these states to follow, so that they could prosper and flourish. Though Machiavelli hailed from Florence, a Republic, he pleaded for a strong ruler who could unite the country and expel the foreign invaders. He particularly considered the papacy as a great obstacle in the way of secular integration and supported gradual transfer of power from the church of the monarch. Impact of Republic: The Renaissance Movement which stood for the revival of ancient values and culture also exercised profound influence on Machiavelli because this movement was strongest in Florence. This movement not only revived that was ancient and had been forgotten during the medieval period, but also created a consciousness of life, a new sense of liberty, and new values of life. Man became the center of all study and God was relegated to the background. This was a sort of revolt against the authority of the Church. The impact of Renaissance on Machiavelli is quite evident from strong plea for gradual transfer of power from the church to the state.

Machiavelli’s thoughts on politics and forms of government

Emergency of strong Monarchies: the emergency of strong monarchs who had concentrated the entire political power in their own hands, which earlier rested with the feudatories and corporations, also left a deep impact on Machiavelli. Though the concentration, of absolute powers in the hands of the rulers meant a death knell of the medieval representation institutions, Machiavelli saw in it as the only remedy for the unification of Italy.
Apart from these contemporary influences, Machiavelli was also influenced by the writings of Aristotle and Marsiglio. He learnt the idea of separation of ethics and politics from Aristotle. The other important things which he borrowed from Aristotle were the idea that the state was the highest organization of human beings.

Machiavelli’s thoughts on politics and forms of government

The three fold division of the states as Monarchy, Aristocracy and Democracy, and the famous historical method. Likewise he felt the influence of Marsiglio in so far the idea of secularism and the political utility of religion are concerned. But without any doubt, he felt the maximum impact of the contemporary conditions. It has been rightly said of Machiavelli that he was the epitome of his times. In fact hardly any other thinker has been more deeply influenced by the contemporary politics as Machiavelli. Sabine also says “Clear and broad as his vision of politics was Machiavelli was still in a peculiar sense an Italian of the first quarter of sixteenth century. Had he written in any other time and place, his conception of politics must have been significantly differently”.

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