There are reasons people found him shocking
0 Comments Published by ginny on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 10:20 PM.
I have a half-feeling that it's unbelievably lame to quote Machiavelli in the context of a discussion of current events, but I can't help it -- this passage struck me with depressing force when I read it today. (The Prince being on my orals list):
Oh dear. Leave it to Old Nick (the introduction claims this way of referring to Machiavel was popular in the 16thc because of its overlap with the already popular name for the devil, though I've never seen it) to point out exactly when and why troop surges becomescolonization.
In other news: welcome to the new, password-protected blog! Full of depressive readings all for you, my friends!
[If you have invaded a new territory]...[B]y maintaining soldiers there instead of colonies, one spends much more, being obliged to consume all the revenues of the state in guarding its borders, so that the profit becomes a loss; and far greater injury is committed, since the entire state is harmed by the army changing quarters from one place to another; everybody resents this inconvenience, and everyone becomes an enemy; and these are enemies that can be harmful, since they remain, although conquered, in their own home. And so, in every respect, this kind of defense is as useless as the other kind, colonization, is useful. ("Of Mixed Prinicpalities" 11).
Oh dear. Leave it to Old Nick (the introduction claims this way of referring to Machiavel was popular in the 16thc because of its overlap with the already popular name for the devil, though I've never seen it) to point out exactly when and why troop surges becomescolonization.
In other news: welcome to the new, password-protected blog! Full of depressive readings all for you, my friends!
Labels: early modern, politics
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