The Machiavellians, James Burnham
The Machiavellians, James Burnham
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The Machiavellians
Defenders of Freedom

Author: James Burnham

Narrator: Jeff Riggenbach

Unabridged: 9 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/28/2009

Categories: Nonfiction, Philosophy

Synopsis

This classic work of political theory and practice offers an account of the modern Machiavellians, a remarkable group who have been influential in Europe and practically unknown in the United States. The book devotes a long section to Machiavelli himself as well as to such modern Machiavellians as Gaetano Mosca, Georges Sorel, Robert Michels and Vilfredo Pareto. Burnham contends that the writings of these men hold the key both to the truth about politics and to the preservation of political liberty.

About James Burnham

James Burnham (1905–1987) was an American popular political theorist and a noted author, lecturer, editor, and commentator. He was the founding editor of the National Review, founder of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, and director of the Free Europe University. He was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Ingersoll Foundation’s award for his contributions to the conservative movement. His books include The Managerial Revolution, The Machiavellians, The Struggle for the World, and many others.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Uxküll on March 15, 2017

One of the greatest books on political theory one can have the pleasure of reading, elucidating the Machiavellian realist or amoral analysis of politics. Both an analysis of it's chief figures, their theories and a contrast of the "politics as wish" as represented by Dante. This should be in the cur......more

Goodreads review by Balint on February 06, 2020

The Machiavellians is one of those rare books in which the ideas expressed are absolutely compelling and the prose is eloquent, too, so that it feels great to read it. Burnham starts by talking about a manifesto of the Democratic Party and Dante's (yes, the same Dante who produced The Inferno) politi......more

Goodreads review by C. on June 05, 2020

The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom was originally published as The Modern Machiavellians. The renaming seems to make it more in line with American conservative rhetoric around liberty--a concern Burnham would not have had in the early 1940s. James Burnham was always the post-Trotskyist Marx......more

Goodreads review by Gwern on November 11, 2020

Moved to gwern.net.......more

Goodreads review by Jean on June 29, 2020

Nominally about “five Italian philosophers,” but that summary is a little misleading. More accurately, this book is Burnham’s framework for understanding power in a political context. “No theory, no promises, no morality, no amount of good will, no religion will restrain power” he writes. “Only powe......more

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