![]() Highly unpopular with the Catholic Church, the book was dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici, the Florentine ruler, with the aim of helping him hold onto power. He controversially argues that murder and betrayal are acceptable if they lead to the attainment and retention of power. Machiavelli aimed to reveal human nature and power structures for what they really are, by looking at the real results of men’s past actions. The Prince marks an important break from previous trends in Western political thought, as it is based on real past experiences, rather than abstract ethical and political principles. Machiavelli was an Italian politician living in Florence. He addresses ethical and political concerns by trying to answer the question: ‘why do men behave justly?’ He believed that, in order to be ‘just’, men must also be ‘good’.Ģ. The Republic discusses the meaning and nature of justice, arguing that a ‘just’ society depends on having a good relationship between three different groups: ‘producers’ (craftsmen, farmers), ‘auxiliaries’ (soldiers) and ‘guardians’ (rulers, politicians). ![]() Plato was an Athenian philosopher, and one of the first Western thinkers to marry philosophy and politics. ![]()
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