On Machiavelli: The Search for Glory

By Alan Ryan

Categories: History, Politics & Social Sciences

Political philosopher Alan Ryan offers a short introduction to Niccolò Machiavelli, the Florentine thinker best known for The Prince. Ryan places Machiavelli in the politics of Renaissance Italy and explains his ideas about power, glory, fortune and virtue in The Prince and the Discourses on Livy. He argues that Machiavelli is often misunderstood, and shows why his work still matters for thinking about politics.

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• Shane Parrish: “Machiavelli is often misunderstood and more often taken out of context. Everyone has an opinion, yet few people have read The Prince or Discourses on Livy.”