MACHIAVELLIANISM

THE POLITICS OF CORRUPT

 

 

Machiavellianism is used as an expression to denote a policy of simulation, deception, and felony far removed from the ethical canons, here the resonance concept is resonating, because the immoral is the descriptive foundation of what a good ruler should do, then I could easily ignore the question, even if I have considered the questioning resolved.

The origins of Machiavellianism go back to the Italian Renaissance, Nicolás Machiavelli (1469-1527), whose surname owes the word, was a typical Renaissance man: iconoclastic, rationalist, disrespectful, heartrending religious and moral prejudices, with a passionate passion for Search and discover and deeply proud of his intellectual emancipation. His book, especially the Prince was dedicated to the magnificent Lorenzo de Medecis, Grandson of Pope Leo X, in pouring all his experience as a courtier of Florentine political life, full of intrigue and ruthless rivals in the struggle for power.

His philosophical work the Prince was dedicated to the magnificent Lorenzo de Medici’s, Grandson of Papa León X, in pouring all his experience as a courtier of Florentine political life, full of intrigue and ruthless rivals in the struggle for power.

Currently recognized politicians such as the United States Donald Trump and Russia Vladimir Putin, it seems that they slept with the famous book under their pillows, because the end that justifies the means, a phrase that still doubt the author of the Florentine, seems to direct current policies on the planet, without observing some disastrous consequences, such as delegitimization and popular assent.

Machiavellianism, the mere fact of consecrating it in the literature of political science, already generates darkness, chaos, contrariety, the most perverse side of its philosophy, which certainly does not hide the great contributions it had to the concepts that today are known as state and Government, which are so valid.

Machiavelli was the first to treat politics from a scientific point of view, this is free from all the religious ties that imprisoned him during the Middle Ages, and his main books The Prince and The Discourses on the First Decade of Livy, went to Despite the limitations of their time, the precursors of modern political science.

This is in synthesis the essence of Machiavellianism in my concept, but could not leave aside a maxim of government, which until today has been very controversial, asked Machiavelli that the prince think about preserving his life and his state; if he succeeds, all the means he has employed will be judged honorable and praised by all the world, thus he formulates the famous principle that the End Justice means, although as I repeat, there are doubts about whether I really formulate it.

Machiavelli was always a realist, he discarded the reality of politics, one of the causes of his controversy, he always had a grim perception of human nature. "Men take less care to offend whoever they fear" because love is a very weak bond for miserable men and yields to the least motive of personal interest, while fear is born of the threat of punishment.

The little book of Machiavelli little read at the beginning, then raised the furor of the church and other sectors, the Archbishop of Canterbury Reginal Pole condemn him as written by the hand of the devil, in 1557 its author was denounced by Pope Paul IV impure and evil.

 Unfortunately and I do not know if many of the current Latin American political leaders have read the precious works of Machiavellianism, they make almost to the letter the recommendations that this demand of the Princes, because it has been easily exposed in acts of corruption.

"Note also the ease with which men corrupt themselves, and change their habits, even if they are good and well educated, changing their good habits into bad ones." Well studied such events by the legislators in the republics or in the kingdoms, will induce them to dictate measures that quickly refrain human appetites and remove all hope of impunity for those who commit faults carried away by their passions. " (Machiavelli, Discourses on the First Decade of Livy, 1, XLII)

But on the other hand we have the following sentence from the same author:

"Power implies corruption, disappointment, the uncovering of the true nature of man, which seeks power and to keep it ends up corrupting."

Meanwhile it is unfair to claim that Machiavelli was indeed Machiavellian, it is false to attribute the evil of the rulers to a great and famous writer, because what he simply did was describe what he saw, what he lived, a scene of his time that even today is valid, corruption is a Latin heritage, from the Renaissance era of princes, so I certainly deny some form of stigmatization against their works

Bribery, embezzlement, bribery, influence peddling and even homicide is all that can be found in the tactics of a good governor at the mercy of the summary of Machiavelli's work, and although they are considered crimes in our legislation Colombian, to the public leaders very little or nothing they care, what is needed is to obtain power and stay in it.

In conclusion I can argue that unintentionally Machiavellianism turned into the politicking philosophy of corrupt leaders, and under this orbit it can apparently justify any action even criminal to maintain the stability of a nation, who do not care about the means but the objective , the end, and that although not all are satisfied if it is fulfilled with superior good, but this does not mean in any way and as I said before that Machiavelli is responsible for this, but without a doubt if he is the inspirer of many of these miserable.

Ref: Rodrigo Borja, Encyclopedia of Politics, Economic Culture Fund - Mexico 1997.



WRITTEN BY
OMAR COLMENARES TRUJILLO