How to Choose a Leader: Machiavelli's Advice to Citizens - Hardcover

Viroli, Maurizio

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691170142 ISBN 13: 9780691170145

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2016

Synopsis

Twenty essential tips for picking great leaders from the father of modern politics

One of the greatest political advisers of all time, Niccolò Machiavelli thought long and hard about how citizens could identify great leaders―ones capable of defending and enhancing the liberty, honor, and prosperity of their countries. Drawing on the full range of the Florentine's writings, acclaimed Machiavelli biographer Maurizio Viroli gathers and interprets Machiavelli's timeless wisdom about choosing leaders. The brief and engaging result is a new kind of Prince―one addressed to citizens rather than rulers and designed to make you a better voter.

Demolishing popular misconceptions that Machiavelli is a cynical realist, the book shows that he believes republics can't survive, let alone thrive, without leaders who are virtuous as well as effective. Among much other valuable advice, Machiavelli says that voters should pick leaders who put the common good above narrower interests and who make fighting corruption a priority, and he explains why the best way to recognize true leaders is to carefully examine their past actions and words. On display throughout are the special insights that Machiavelli gained from long, direct knowledge of real political life, the study of history, and reflection on the political thinkers of antiquity.

Recognizing the difference between great and mediocre political leaders is difficult but not at all impossible―with Machiavelli's help. So do your country a favor. Read this book, then vote like Machiavelli would.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"Niccolò Machiavelli was not only an adviser to princes; he was also, and more importantly, an adviser to citizens. Maurizio Viroli has collected, explained, and elucidated some of the best examples of Machiavellian advice. Be sure to read this book before you go to the polls."--Michael Walzer, Institute for Advanced Study

"In this book we see the depth of understanding, the freshness of insight, the vividness of prose, and the convincing power of argument that have made Maurizio Viroli the preeminent critic of Machiavelli of my generation."--Philip Bobbitt, author of The Garments of Court and Palace: Machiavelli and the World That He Made

"A pleasure to read, this timely and enlightening book will be of great use to today's voters. Maurizio Viroli, one of the very best interpreters of Machiavelli in the world, presents a wise portrait of Machiavelli's work, showing that he wasn't a ‘teacher of evil' but rather a great political thinker with much to say about the issues facing citizens today."--Peter Bondanella, editor and translator of The Prince

About the Author:

Maurizio Viroli is professor emeritus of politics at Princeton University, professor of government at the University of Texas, Austin, and professor of political communication at the University of Italian Switzerland in Lugano. His many books include Niccolò's Smile: A Biography of Machiavelli (Hill & Wang) and Redeeming "The Prince": The Meaning of Machiavelli's Masterpiece (Princeton).

About this edition

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0691170142
• ISBN 13: 9780691170145
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 144