Excellence Unleashed: Machiavelli's Critique of Xenophon and the Moral Foundation of Politics

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What is Machiavelli's place in the history of political thought? Did he seek to revive the civic virtues espoused by ancient Greek and Roman political theorists, or was he an intellectual rebel whose radical critique of the classical philosophic tradition made him a harbinger of the modern era? Almost every significant book on Machiavelli since the beginning of the twentieth century has addressed the question of his relation to classical thought in one form or another. Yet, there has never been a comprehensive study of the relationship between Machiavelli and Xenophon, the classical political theorist whose shrewd analysis of effective politics comes closest to Machiavelli's.

Excellence Unleashedis a detailed comparison of Machiavelli and Xenophon's political philosophy, focusing on Xenophon's Education of Cyrus and Hiero or On Tyranny and Machiavelli's The Prince and Discourses on Livy. This study examines a number of major themes essential to both writers: the moral and political requirements of healthy republics; imperial expansion; the relationship between human nature, politics, and virtue; the role of religion in politics; the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate rule; and the influence of philosophy on politics. By elucidating the remarkable scope, depth, and subtlety of the debate between these two great thinkers, this book offers a fresh perspective on the philosophic and political significance of Machiavelli's proto-modern break from the classical tradition.

Excellence Unleashed: Machiavelli's Critique of Xenophon and the Moral Foundation of Politics Review

Before cities, politics did not exist. There was no need either in practice or theory to be concerned with questions presented by the agglomeration of mass populations. The issues - clashing interests, technological innovation, power over others, tendencies to spread regional influence, and a host of others, however, placed the "science" of politics front and center among human concerns. (Greek "polis" = city; "politikos" = pertaining to citizens of the "polis"; together they produce the modern meaning of "political," that is, relating to government of the "polis" and its citizens.)

A latter-day analogy might be the first one hundred years of basketball. Before the invention of the game, there was no need to describe zone defenses, the fast break, spreading the floor, the press, etc. Today one can read the concepts of Hank Iba (Kansas), Pete Newell (California), Adolph Rupp (Kentucky), John Wooden (UCLA), and Red Auerbach (Boston Celtics) to learn of early basketball theory (still applicable today). If one wishes to understand how politics assumed its contemporary shape, one should likewise read the writings of those who devised "the rules" in their earliest forms. Xenophon and his successor Machiavelli are two such thinkers, making Paul J. Rasmussen's "Excellence Unleashed: Machiavelli's Critique of Xenophon and the Moral Foundation of Politics," a timely and welcome contribution to the discipline.

Aside from classical specialists perhaps few today know of Xenophon. Concisely, he was Socrates' Greek prot�g , but also a man who "rode with" the Persian Cyrus during his 4th Century B.C. conquests. It was out of this latter experience that Xenophon produced the "Cyropaedia," a detailed examination of leadership techniques employed by Cyrus in capturing territory stretching from India to North Africa. Rasmussen's interest centers in particular on the choices made by Cyrus in the exercise of authority contravening the ordinary laws of the Persian nation. As commander of a vast army, Cyrus faced problems not unfamiliar even to modern military leaders.

Take the problem of "generalship" confronting Douglas MacArthur in 1942. Trapped in the Philippines by invading Japanese forces, MacArthur could stay put to fight valiantly with his remaining men-at-arms, thereby signifying his complete commitment as commander to stand with his troops, though in all likelihood they would eventually be captured or destroyed, a fate proved out in the immediate months for all but a handful. Or, he could undertake to escape, a decision that MacArthur embraced successfully with a daring PT Boat dash through a Japanese blockade. The latter course is recalled along with the General's famous pledge, "I shall return," a promise he was able to keep in 1944, after a couple of years of "exile" in Australia. According to Xenophon's description of Cyrus' thinking on such subjects, MacArthur's choice was correct. For by deciding to "live to fight again," he signaled those under his command that lives (in this instance his own) would not be wasted in battle - no matter how glorious the alternative of sacrifice might be to onlookers.

All combatants in battle know that some will survive, others will not. The question therefore is how to lead when those who follow know that some will perish. The answer spelled out in Xenophon's "Cyropaedia" is that there must exist a blend of booty and beauty (that is, the ideal) as motivation. MacArthur's eye never strayed from the goal of victory, yet at the same time his words vaunted future triumph he demonstrated the ideal of protecting those under his command, a virtue for which he became renowned.

This is merely one imagined application of the mechanics of Cyrus' leadership, as it must have been contemplated by Machiavelli (in his reading of Xenophon) - Machiavelli being the ultimate subject of Rasmussen's treatise, and a person of much greater relevance to contemporary witness of political regimes. Indeed, a glance at recent history suggests an array of figures appearing to have been students of Machiavelli, albeit sometimes of the most shallow kind.

In Rasmussen's words, Machiavelli's contribution, surpassing that of Xenophon's Cyrus, rests in averring that "(t)rue human excellence depends not on ideal standards of moral goodness or badness, but on that combination of prudence, cunning, and strength of will that enables the prince to overcome the obstacles of political reality" (p. 123).

The difficulty with this prescription for "excellence" is that according to Machiavelli's notion, as well as the tenor of his times, excellence was to be measured by the yardstick of "glory," with its contemporary synonyms "power," "acquisition" (of wealth), "obedience" (of subjects), "military victory," and so forth. That this notion is superior to alternative concepts of "excellence" - standing beyond the classical nonpareil of "contemplation," and certainly Christian "otherworldliness" - may trouble some. Rasmussen, however, astutely recognizes that taken for its own sake, as Machiavelli declares, pure politics knows no limits, good or evil - surely a hallmark of its modern practice.

Howard J. De Nike is a member of the faculty of the Fromm Institute, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California.

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