Reading Machiavelli: Scandalous Books, Suspect Engagements, and the Virtue of Populist Politics

by John P. McCormick

A new reading of Machiavelli’s major works that demonstrates how he has been previously misread

To what extent was Niccolò Machiavelli a “Machiavellian”? Was he an amoral adviser of tyranny or a stalwart partisan of liberty? A neutral technician of power politics or a devout Italian patriot? A reviver of pagan virtue or initiator of modern nihilism? Reading Machiavelli answers these questions through original interpretations of Machiavelli’s three major political works—The Prince, Discourses, and Florentine Histories—and demonstrates that a radically democratic populism seeded the Florentine’s scandalous writings. John McCormick challenges the misguided understandings of Machiavelli set forth by prominent thinkers, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau and representatives of the Straussian and Cambridge schools, and he emphasizes the fundamental, often unacknowledged elements of a vibrant Machiavellian politics. Advancing fresh readings of Machiavelli’s work, this book presents a new outlook on how politics should be conceptualized and practiced.

Genres: History, Philosophy, Politics

288 pages, Hardcover

Published October 9, 2018

About the author

John P. McCormick is professor of political science at the University of Chicago. His books include Weimar Thought and Machiavellian Democracy.

Reviews

[Jacopo Quercia]

As someone who studied Machiavelli in Florence and has taught classes on his writings for a decade, I am delighted to report that John P. McCormick's "Reading Machiavelli" is the best book I have ever read on the subject, and I most highly recommend it.

McCormick wastes no time and gets straight to business with his readers, which is refreshing: "My overriding intention," he opens, "is to explore and expound upon the explicit if still elusive goal of Machiavelli's major writings." His book consists of two parts. Part I focuses on Machiavelli's "major writings" ('The Prince,' 'The Discourses,' and 'Florentine Histories'), and Part II addresses misconceptions on Machiavelli evident in the writings of Jean-Jacques Roussea, Leo Strauss, and the Cambridge School of J.G.A. Pocock, Quentin Skinner, and others. Each chapter is concise yet eclectic, faithfully recreating Machiavelli's world and research so that readers have an accurate understanding of the Florentine's politics, nuances, and intentions. McCormick is confident in his writing without being arrogant, particularly when sparring with some of the most influential political thinkers that ever lived in Part II. The conclusion does a fantastic job summarizing the work without straying from its subject despite the many temptations current events may offer scholars. I applaud McCormick for his restraint since it makes his occasional comments on the modern world even more outstanding. His opinions are so anchored in his research that they can be accepted as outright facts.

I found the highlight of this book to be its second chapter, which covers "Economic Inequality and Political Corruption in the Discourses." McCormick's essay does more than summarize Machiavelli's opinions on the subject: it presents perhaps the most profound explanation I have ever read for the collapse of the Roman Republic. Machiavelli's writings frequently jump through history, which might cause readers to lose sight of the larger narratives he's telling. McCormick masterfully weaves Machiavelli's arguments together in a single essay about the threat economic inequality poses to all republics, be they Athens, Sparta, Rome, or the United States today. The result is breathtaking, a true tour de force. Brilliant.

If this book has anything approaching a shortcoming, it's the notable absence of Machiavelli's "The Art of War" and "The Mandrake" from McCormick's essays. I imagine any student or scholar of Machiavelli would want to know McCormick's thoughts on these works as well, but their absence does not damage the book in any way. Far from it, it leaves reader wanting to know more, which is a good quality for a book designed to aid researchers.

I give this book my highest recommendation. If you're a political science student or professor, a student of the Italian Renaissance, a political activist, a fan of Assassin's Creed II, an American, or someone who is approaching Machiavelli for the first time, I want you to read this book. It provides a better background than any introductory chapter to any edition of Machiavelli's writing, it corrects centuries of mistakes, and it leaves readers with a clear understanding of what McCormick deems "genuinely Machiavellian": Niccolò Machiavelli true words and thoughts.

[Zach]

Reading it is like being in a really good Machiavelli seminar. An invigorating book. I think there's a lot of questions that the democratic take on Machiavelli will have to answer soon--for example, are we making Machiavelli too familiar to modern democratic instincts? How is violence important to a plebeian/populist politics? How is founding integrated into this reading?--But I think it's been strongly demonstrated that this is the proper way into Machiavelli's texts.

The second part of the book is admirably frank and direct in its criticisms of other ways of reading Machiavelli. Strauss is dunked on for willful misreading and the conservative canonization of Machiavelli by theorists of republicanism is taken to task for its stale conformism. There's some really spicy stuff here and this portion serves as a model for political theory in its antagonistic mode that more of us should emulate.

[elmandfir]

The second part's critiques are pretty good, but the first part's positive arguments are difficult to sustain

[Mark Singer]

The debate over Machiavelli’s intent has been going on for almost 500 years. Most of the recent conversations have been divided between the followers of Leo Strauss versus those of the Cambridge school of J G A Pocock and Quentin Skinner. In the essays here, McCormick finds fault in both interpretations, as well as the views of Rousseau. The chapter on Leo Strauss’s obfuscations is the best part.
McCormick is a strong advocate for Machiavelli’s belief that struggle between the nobles and the plebs is what guarantees liberty, not false notions of harmony and aristocratic intent.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in the continuing relevance of the Florentine secretary.