The Online Library of Liberty
A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.
About Liberty Fund:
Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.
Fair use statement:
This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section of the individual titles, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.
Liberty, Responsibility, and Prudence in The Prince, King Lear, and Measure for Measure
This List Is By:
Quentin Taylor
Resident Scholar Liberty Fund, Inc. Indianapolis, Indiana
Topic
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
The conference will examine the nature of responsible governance and consider whether moral equivocations might be necessary for the good of the whole, whether it be a people or a corporation. Are good governors and managers born, or can techniques for responsible governance and prudent management be taught? The selected texts are concerned with different concepts of power, authority, liberty, and prudence. They invite us to explore the relation between legitimate power, the exercise of leadership, and the protection of liberty within the framework of rules. Prudent and responsible political leadership must come to terms with the paradoxes of human nature so that authority is based on responsible action.
Sessions I and II: The Prince
Beginning with the Dedicatory Letter to Lorenzo de’ Medici, Session I covers the first half of The Prince (chs. 1-14). In the Letter, Machiavelli proposes to “lay down the law about how princes should rule.” While directed especially to a “new prince” (one who has come to power by force), the teaching is applicable to the exercise of power in general.
The reading for Session II (chs. 15-26) contains the most provocative and controversial parts of The Prince. Machiavelli’s reputation as a “teacher of evil,” an “immoralist,” and a “counselor of tyrannts” is based largely on these chapters. Others, however, have defended the spirit (if not always the letter) of Machiavelli’s teaching for its analytical power and daring realism.
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Historical, Political, and Diplomatic Writings of Niccolo Machiavelli, tr. from the Italian, by Christian E. Detmold (Boston, J. R. Osgood and company, 1882). Vol. 2. Chapter: THE PRINCE.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/775/75825 on 2008-08-20
Sessions III and IV: King Lear
Based on fictional sources, King Lear is nonetheless much like Shakespeare’s historical plays, which take “high politics” for their subject. In Acts I and II (Session III), Lear moves from honored sovereign to a homeless wanderer, while the honest Edgar is forced into hiding by his scheming brother, the “bastard” Edmund. These events readily lend themselve to “machiavellian” analysis, particularly Lear’s folly, Cordelia’s reticence, and Gloucester’s gullibility.
In Acts III-V (Session IV) matters go from bad to worse, as treachery and deceit spiral into a maelstrom of human suffering. In the end the villians are vanquished, but only after exacting a heavy toll on the innocent (but not blameless) victims. Could tragedy have been averted if Lear, Cordelia, and Gloucester had acted in a more “machiavellian” fashion? While Edmund is often described as a “machiavellian” character, can not a case be made for Kent, who perceives correctly, advises wisely, and survives the carnage?
William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (The Oxford Shakespeare), ed. with a glossary by W.J. Craig M.A. (Oxford University Press, 1916).
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1621 on 2008-08-20
Sessions V and VI: Measure for Measure
“Of government so the properties to unfold.” So begins this “ghastly” comedy, which presents some of the behavior we might expect from a “machiavellian.” The plot includes intrique, character flaws, deception, power grabs, and a surprise resolution of the tangled conflicts. The reading for Session V (Acts I-III) highlights a number of perennial issues in politics and ethics: leadership, delegation of authority, corruption in office, sex and power, crime and punishment. What does Shakespeare’s treatment of these themes tell us about liberty, responsibility and prudence, both personal and political?
In all Shakespeare’s political plays, disorder gives way to order in the end, usually at a high cost in blood and treasure. In Measure for Measure (Session VI, Acts IV-V), however, the guilty are spared the worst, justice is restored, and the cracked bond of society is repaired and solmenized in marriage. This conclusion directs us to reflect on the role of mercy and forgiveness as a function of justice (both public and private), as well as the relation between social institutions (e.g., marriage) and civil society.
William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (The Oxford Shakespeare), ed. with a glossary by W.J. Craig M.A. (Oxford University Press, 1916).
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1615 on 2008-08-20