The Machiavellians
Defenders of Freedom
James Burnham
My Copies
Characters
- Robert Michels
- Gaetano Mosca
- Niccoló Machiavelli – father of the science of politics
Notes
This is one of those short works that fully rewires the way you think about a topic. In this case, that topic is political system design. Burnham argues compellingly, drawing on Machiavelli, that the best way to secure liberty is to:
- have a populace with a deep knowledge of how power works
- have a state run by relatively equal, diametrically opposed groups of elites, who spend all their time and energy in fierce zero-sum competition against each other, instead of on efficiently oppressing the people
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1.: The Formal Meaning of _De Monarchia_
2.: The Real Meaning of _De Monarchia_
3.: The Typical Method of Political Thought
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1.: Machiavelli's Practical Goal
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2.: Machiavelli's Method
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3.: Political Man
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4.: Machiavelli's Conception of History
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5.: Machiavelli's Reputation
Machiavelli is feared and slandered not because he is wrong, but because he is right. The powerful fear widespread knowledge of the mechanisms of power, because it would make impossible their hopes of domination.
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1.: The Machiavellian Tradition
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2.: The Ruling Class
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3.: Composition and Character of the Ruling Class
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4.: Tendencies in the Ruling Class
5.: The Best and Worst Governments
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1.: The Function of Myth
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2.: The Function of Violence
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1.: Michels' Problem
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2.: The Fact of Leadership
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3.: The Autocracy of Leadership
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4.: The Iron Law of Oligarchy
1.: Logical and Non-logical Conduct
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2.: Residues and Derivations
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3.: Social Utility
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4.: The Circulation of the Elites
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1.: The Nature of the Present
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2.: The Meaning of Democracy
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3.: Can Politics Be Scientific?
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