![]() ![]() ![]() Machiavelli was the first theorist to decisively divorce politics from ethics, and hence to give a certain autonomy to the study of politics. According to an ancient tradition that goes back to Aristotle, politics is a sub-branch of ethics-ethics being defined as the moral behavior of individuals, and politics being defined as the morality of individuals in social groups or organized communities. I would point out that, before Machiavelli, politics was strictly bonded with ethics, in theory if not in practice. If I were introducing Machiavelli to students in a political science course, I would emphasize Machiavelli’s importance in the history of political thought. It’s a simple question but there’s no simple answer. Let me begin with a simple question: Why are we still reading this book called The Prince, which was written 500 years ago? ![]()
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