Social:The Machiavellians

From HandWiki
Short description: 1943 book by James Burnham
The Machiavellians
Title page for The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom (1943)
AuthorJames Burnham
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
PublisherJohn Day Company
Publication date
1943
Pages270

The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom is a 1943 book by the American writer James Burnham.[1][2][3]

Summary

The book evokes theorists of elites and power structures, notably Dante Alighieri and Niccolò Machiavelli in the Renaissance period, and Gaetano Mosca, Robert Michels and Vilfredo Pareto in the 20th century. Using their theories, Burnham assesses the contemporary elites of the United States. He concludes that they have become weak, inflexible and bound to American liberalism in ways that erode liberty.[4]

Reception

Kirkus Reviews called the book stimulating and provocative, but wrote that "those who would profit most probably won't read it".[4]

References

  1. Hook, Sidney (1988). "On James Burnham' s The Machiavellians". Society 25: 68–70. doi:10.1007/BF02695652. 
  2. Huse, H. R. (1943). "Reviewed Work: The Machiavellians James Burnham". Southern Economic Journal 10 (1): 74–76. doi:10.2307/1053407. 
  3. "The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom". The Atlantic. June 1943. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1943/06/the-machiavellians-defenders-of-freedom/655500/. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "The Machiavellians". Kirkus Reviews. June 15, 1943. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/james-burnham-4/the-machiavellians/.