Machiavelli and Hobbes

Comparison Essay # 113072

Philosophy
Political Science > Machiavelli, Niccolo
Political Science > Political Theory

A comparison of the democratic traditions of Niccolo Machiavelli in "The Prince" and Thomas Hobbes in "Leviathan".

1,372 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2009 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the notions of the liberal democratic tradition and the views of Niccolo Machiavelli, author of "The Prince" and Thomas Hobbes, author of "Leviathan." It discusses how they both justify monarchical control in an authoritarian type structure and then looks at the different underlying rationale that place Hobbes more within this democratic tradition.

From the Paper:

"In establishing this point of view, Machiavelli is going against conventional notions of the importance of ethical and democratic agreement shown in Hobbes' reliance on the social contract as a sort of saving grace. Throughout The Prince, the author keeps his distance from this sense of ethical responsibility in which a person's actions are seen to be judged by either their individual conscience or the moral dictates of a higher power. Machiavelli's point of view seems to be that such concerns are best left to the clergy; he is writing a manual of practical, real-world instruction to the ruler, not a metaphysical treatise. Unlike in Hobbes, where God has frequent mention, the sphere of politics is kept separate from the sphere of religion in Machiavelli's text, so that the ruler is given what seems, at times, to be special license to craft their own public image based on principals of subterfuge and covering up rather than popularly vaunted ethical ideals of honesty and piety."

Sample of Sources Used:

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Modern Political Thought to 1900. New York: Pearson, 2001.
Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998.
Thomas Hobbes (2001). The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/h/hobbes.htm.