Reading Machiavelli
Harvey Mansfield and Leo Strauss are two of the most influential scholars of Machiavelli in the 20th and 21st centuries. Their work has profoundly shaped modern interpretations of Machiavelli's political philosophy and its impact on the development of modernity. This essay will examine Mansfield and Strauss's key arguments about Machiavelli, comparing and contrasting their approaches while exploring the broader implications of their analysis. Strauss's Interpretation of Machiavelli Leo Strauss's seminal work "Thoughts on Machiavelli" (1958) presents a provocative and deeply influential reading of Machiavelli as a revolutionary thinker who deliberately sought to overthrow traditional morality and classical political philosophy. For Strauss, Machiavelli represents a radical break with the past and the inauguration of modernity. Machiavelli as Teacher of Evil Strauss argues that "the most visible fact about Machiavelli's doctrine is also the most useful ...