Luther Likes L.A.R.P.ing

I agree with Luther on his opinion against mindlessly obeying earthly authorities. He points out that they want to do as they please, and call it the will of God. However, if a Christian were to follow the true will of God, he should not have to worry about the law of the land, since he should be an exceedingly better citizen than one who merely follows moral laws.

Machiavelli Quiz

Topic:
"The Prince is a concise statement of Machiavell's belief that classical and Christian political theory is unworkable in a world that defines politics as the exercise of power and the struggle for power. It is also implicitly a rejection of a nihilistic counterethic, that only power and brute force matter."

Discuss to what extent you agree or disagree with this statement. What evidence can you bring to support your position?


(Dante Germino, Machiavelli to Marx: Modern Western Political Thought, p. 32)


Response:
Machiavelli’s treatise on politics generally causes the same reaction from all who read it. They generally react with disgust at the cruel, yet simple language that he uses to describe the ways for a prince to gain and maintain power. The Prince has this effect because it seeks to separate politics and ethics. He expounds upon the former, while completely ignoring the latter.

This separation of these two subjects, of course, makes Machiavelli’s guidelines for ruling incompatible with religion, which bases politics off of ethical standards. Christianity in particular, clashes with the ideas offered in The Prince. The goal of a Christian’s life is supposed to be the glorification of the Creator. However, as one reads The Prince they can not help but become angry at the condoning of a selfish ruler. The goal of The Prince is to help elevate the relevant reader above all others, without a concern for the wellbeing of the masses.

When Machiavelli suggests demolishing a whole state in order to gain control, the question arises to why the ruler wants to be in charge. If it is not to govern more justly than the previous ruler, then it would seem that he wants power for power’s sake, or in other words, his motive is selfishness. The theme of being superior to others runs throughout The Prince. The community is portrayed as simple beings in a heartless way by Machiavelli. He analyzes their behavior based on historical instances, and draws conclusions that would stipulate a simple, “if…then”, mind.

Machiavelli does not list any reasons for the prince to take power, as he does with the methods by which he can. However, by looking through the book’s perspective, is seems that the principle goal is to gain power. He only takes into account the stability of the prince’s power over the populace, without any concern for the 99.99…% of the people who make up the state. For why would he have written The Prince if he did not believe in the words he was writing? It is madness to write out a guide for princes to gain and maintain power, if you believe they should not do so by the means you suggest in your very words.

By writing The Prince, Machiavelli is condoning the very actions that he provides as options for a prince to gain power. Even if his goal was to separate ethics from politics, this is impossible, because no one teaches others to act in such a way that they believe to be utterly wrong. He would not have written a treatise if he did not intend it to be followed. Therefore, Machiavelli did intend for princes to commit genocide, and he did approve of the murdering of an entire family in the name of gaining power for oneself.

Mr Pitts is my Hero

I want to be Mr. Pitts when I grow up.