TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS i INTRODUCTION 1 BODY 2 VALUES OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY MACHIAVELLI 2 LIMITATIONS OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY MACHIAVELLI 3 MACHIAVELLIS POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY HAS MANY M. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS i INTRODUCTION 1 BODY 2 VALUES OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY MACHIAVELLI 2 LIMITATIONS OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY MACHIAVELLI 3 MACHIAVELLIS POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY HAS MANY MEANINGS IN MODERN PHILOSOPHY 4 CONCLUSION 6 REFERENCES 7 INTRODUCTION Niccolò Machiavelli was the greatest philosopher of the Renaissance, considered the father of modern political science. However, many people only know Machiavelli through his most famous book The Prince, but few people take the time to read the most massive and vital work, Discourses on Livy Discorsi sopra la prima Deca di Tito Livio (Ward, 2011). Many people consider the political philosophy of Machiavelli negatively, while K. Marx, F. Engels, J. J. Rousseau, and Antonio Gramsci had much sympathy and respect for the philosophical contributions of Machiavelli (Capponi, 2011). This article will point out the values and limitations of Machiavellis political philosophy to demonstrate objectively that the doctrine of this Florentine (Italian) philosopher makes much sanity for modern philosophy. BODY VALUES OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY MACHIAVELLI Machiavellis political philosophy has great historical and scientific value because it paved the way for the development of Western political philosophy after centuries of immersion in the theological and religious reasoning of scholastic philosophy. Machiavelli was the first Western political philosopher to offer a method of political research and analysis based solely on factual and objective evidence, without invoking moral or religious reasons for political solutions (Fontana, 2009). Machiavellis political philosophy has provided the scientific method for modern political science. The value of Machiavellis political philosophy is also reflected in the fact that it is the first Western political philosophy to provide theories on the construction of the rule of law. The practice has proven that the rule of law benefits the people, helping them express and promote their mastery. In the rule of law, the law is paramount, and no one is outside the control and regulation of the law. As long as the law expresses the common will of the people, people can be assured that the state power always belongs to them. The rule of law is not only an effective means to promote democracy but also an effective tool for the public apparatus to best perform the tasks assigned by the people. Once the public administration is a rule of law state of the people, by the people, and for the people, that state power is legitimate, and the people will support the exercise of state power (Stuart, 2020). Political philosophy Machiavelli contributed to the struggle against idealism in philosophy. Louis Althusser (2020, p. 103), author of Machiavelli and us (Machiavelli and us) said that Machiavelli is the greatest materialist philosopher in history. Machiavellis political philosophy is a materialist theory because Machiavelli explains political events from objectively natural agents or material factors. Accordingly, the success or failure of a monarch or a political leader depends on whether he has discovered and thoroughly analyzed the objective favorable and challenging conditions. LIMITATIONS OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY MACHIAVELLI
TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS .i INTRODUCTION BODY .2 VALUES OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY MACHIAVELLI LIMITATIONS OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY MACHIAVELLI MACHIAVELLI'S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY HAS MANY MEANINGS IN MODERN PHILOSOPHY CONCLUSION REFERENCES i INTRODUCTION Niccolò Machiavelli was the greatest philosopher of the Renaissance, considered the father of modern political science However, many people only know Machiavelli through his most famous book "The Prince", but few people take the time to read the most massive and vital work, "Discourses on Livy -Discorsi sopra la prima Deca di Tito Livio" (Ward, 2011) Many people consider the political philosophy of Machiavelli negatively, while K Marx, F Engels, J J Rousseau, and Antonio Gramsci had much sympathy and respect for the philosophical contributions of Machiavelli (Capponi, 2011) This article will point out the values and limitations of Machiavelli's political philosophy to demonstrate objectively that the doctrine of this Florentine (Italian) philosopher makes much sanity for modern philosophy BODY VALUES OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY MACHIAVELLI Machiavelli's political philosophy has great historical and scientific value because it paved the way for the development of Western political philosophy after centuries of immersion in the theological and religious reasoning of scholastic philosophy Machiavelli was the first Western political philosopher to offer a method of political research and analysis based solely on factual and objective evidence, without invoking moral or religious reasons for political solutions (Fontana, 2009) Machiavelli's political philosophy has provided the scientific method for modern political science The value of Machiavelli's political philosophy is also reflected in the fact that it is the first Western political philosophy to provide theories on the construction of the rule of law The practice has proven that the rule of law benefits the people, helping them express and promote their mastery In the rule of law, the law is paramount, and no one is outside the control and regulation of the law As long as the law expresses the common will of the people, people can be assured that the state power always belongs to them The rule of law is not only an effective means to promote democracy but also an effective tool for the public apparatus to best perform the tasks assigned by the people Once the public administration is a rule of law state of the people, by the people, and for the people, that state power is legitimate, and the people will support the exercise of state power (Stuart, 2020) Political philosophy Machiavelli contributed to the struggle against idealism in philosophy Louis Althusser (2020, p 103), author of Machiavelli and us (Machiavelli and us) said that Machiavelli is "the greatest materialist philosopher in history." Machiavelli's political philosophy is a materialist theory because Machiavelli explains political events from objectively natural agents or material factors Accordingly, the success or failure of a monarch or a political leader depends on whether he has discovered and thoroughly analyzed the objective favorable and challenging conditions LIMITATIONS OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY MACHIAVELLI The first limitation of Machiavelli's political philosophy is that it advocates the concentration of all state power in the hands of a single person and allows that person to use violence to the fullest extent to establish social order Although knowing that "Machiavelli advocates any form of violence for the sake of the vital interests of the nation" (Calkivik, 2016), in reality, this policy of Machiavelli has created conditions for tyrants and dictators to take advantage of evil purposes, satisfying personal power ambitions Although when proposing to centralize state power in the hands of one person, Machiavelli clearly states that that person must be for the nation's common good and not for his own interests, in reality, it is not Nothing can determine who is for the common good and what actions are out of patriotism The second limitation of Machiavelli's political philosophy is that it presents insidious and cruel ways of competing for political power, which causes many to turn politics into a dirty power game filled with cowardly, deceitful and deceitful tricks Machiavelli outlined cunning and cruel methods of competing for political power in an absolute monarchy environment but was manipulated by many of his readers in a distorted and crude way in the democratic-republican political environment, causing disastrous consequences, trampling on the noble values of political life human society They have identified the ingenuity, cleverness, wisdom, toughness, and determination of the leader in the management and administration of the republican government with cunning, cunning, cunning, deceitful, cruel tyranny, and cruelty of the autocrat in a dictatorship tyranny This is not necessarily a limitation of Machiavelli's political philosophy but rather the fault of those who apply Machiavelli's political philosophy They misunderstood or deliberately ignored the purpose and scope of Machiavelli's political philosophy of absolute monarchy MACHIAVELLI'S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY HAS MANY MEANINGS IN MODERN PHILOSOPHY Machiavelli's political philosophy shows humanity because it comes from human nature and society, not from God, and imitates the City of the Roman Fathers that dominated the Western world during the Middle Ages From the conception of human nature, Machiavelli formulated the principles of a new political and philosophical doctrine, which can also be understood as the principles of Machiavelli's art of political power (McCormick, 2009) Humanism in Machiavelli's political philosophy is the return to the flesh and blood man with the whole inherent nature of man, not the human images that have been deified or attributed to properties alien to humans The humanism in Machiavelli's philosophy does not describe a man in a one-sided way with all good things because if man had such good nature and mainly did such good things, human society would not have to suffer bloody wars everywhere and at all times in history Besides returning to the natural person to show its nature, Machiavelli's political philosophy also upholds man's freedom in the political democratic republic Secularism and anti-theocracy make Machiavelli's political philosophy turn in a new direction, escaping from medieval political philosophy with the characteristic of bringing theocracy above world power Before Machiavelli, the great names of medieval philosophy, such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, all tried to prove that the political model in which the Catholic church is almost a function of the state is the best and only correct political model (McDade, 2014) By advocating a doctrine of political philosophy without religion, Machiavelli officially closed the scholastic political philosophy of the Roman Fathers, opening a new stage of development in the history of Western political philosophy This characteristic makes political philosophy historians affirm that Machiavelli was the first modern political scientist because he separated theocracy from authority and religion from politics This can be seen as a sign of an epochal shift in Western political philosophy A notable advance in Machiavelli's idea of the rule of law is that the law must be based on the general will and not on the will of the highest political authority However, if it is in the national interest and not its own, Machiavelli is willing to support the decisive and authoritarian action by the head of state Reading Machiavelli's The Prince will see him as a man passionate about peace and independence for his country Italy Machiavelli's political philosophy theory is built on his feelings for the country and the people (Williams, 2004) In the last chapter of The Prince, after presenting all the powerful arts of a monarch, Machiavelli called on the king to stand up and lead the people to save the country It can be said that Machiavelli's most profound and significant purpose when writing The Prince is to liberate the country and unify the country, not simply to help Lorenzo de' Medici strengthen the kingship For Italy's future, Machiavelli is to establish a democratic republic, but to so must first complete the drive of foreign invasion and unification of the country by the power of a true absolute monarchy That is why Machiavelli advocates a totalitarian totalitarian government in The Prince In the West, due to the strong influence of Machiavelli's The Prince, the word "Machiavellism" is used as a common noun, a common word in the dictionary connoting evil, sinister tricks, and cunning CONCLUSION Machiavelli's political philosophy bears many characteristics of a tremendous epoch-making philosophical doctrine His philosophy has left valuable values for the development of modern philosophy and political science However, Machiavelli's political philosophy is also not immune to limitations when it comes to advocating autocracy and encouraging the maximum use of violence Through the process of study and research, it can be concluded that Machiavelli's political philosophy has brought many meanings to modern philosophy, such as humanism, anti-theocracy, the policy of building a rule of law state, and patriotism and the will to unify the nation and nation REFERENCES Ward, J (2011) Reading Machiavelli Rhetorically: <em>The Prince</em> as Covert Critique of the Renaissance Prince California Italian Studies, 2(2) https://doi.org/10.5070/c322008931 Capponi, N (2011) An unlikely prince: the life and times of Machiavelli Choice Reviews Online, 48(05), 48-2955-48-2955 https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.48-2955 Fontana, B (2009) Review Article: Rhetoric and Power in Machiavelli European Journal Of Political Theory, 8(2), 263-274 https://doi.org/10.1177/1474885108100856 Stuart, D (2020) Machiavelli, Devotion, and Political Theology Women In Philosophy Journal, 11, 58-72 https://doi.org/10.5840/wipj2020116 Morfino, V (2020) Althusser, Machiavelli, and the PCF Filozofski Vestnik, 41(1) https://doi.org/10.3986/fv.41.1.03 Calkivik, A (2016) Revisiting the violence of Machiavelli International Politics, 53(4), 505-518 https://doi.org/10.1057/ip.2016.12 McCormick, J (2009) Machiavelli and the Gracchi: prudence, violence and redistribution Global Crime, 10(4), 298-305 https://doi.org/10.1080/17440570903248155 McDade, J (2014) Augustine, Aquinas and the Culture Wars New Blackfriars, 95(1056), 132-145 https://doi.org/10.1111/nbfr.12067 Williams, G (2004) Interpreting Modern Political Philosophy: From Machiavelli to Marx Contemporary Political Theory, 3(3), 348-349 https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.cpt.9300139 ... reasons for political solutions (Fontana, 2009) Machiavelli''s political philosophy has provided the scientific method for modern political science The value of Machiavelli''s political philosophy. .. Machiavelli''s political philosophy but rather the fault of those who apply Machiavelli''s political philosophy They misunderstood or deliberately ignored the purpose and scope of Machiavelli''s political philosophy. .. the scholastic political philosophy of the Roman Fathers, opening a new stage of development in the history of Western political philosophy This characteristic makes political philosophy historians