Livestream at 4:30 PM ET Today: "Get Lit" Takes on Machiavelli
You might have read The Prince. We’re reading “Discourses on Livy.”
If you’re like me, you learned about Niccolo Machiavelli in high school and read The Prince, a short, spicy book that advises influential men how to “seize absolute authority.” For this reason the term “Machiavellian” has become synonymous with a type of cynical villainy in the modern West.
Machiavelli however wrote another book, one not quite so short and easily categorized, called Discourses on Livy. If history chose to remember this book instead of The Prince, we’d all have a very different view of the man, as it shows how deeply he was interested not only in the concept of virtue but in the problem of preserving freedom and liberty and slowing corruption.
It’s a difficult book, but rewarding and very original, especially to a modern American’s ears. Brad and I will start slowly today, but trust us — it’s interesting.
Tune in at 4:30 pm ET below:
Or on X @mtaibbi or @waywardrabbler
This was a great introduction to what I hope will continue to be an intellectually rewarding series. Brad's passion for the subject matter really shines through and helps keep me engaged and Matt has a curious mind asking some interesting questions. America is in bad need of civics lessons.
Macchiavelli also wrote a treatise called "The Art of War." He was a staunch supporter of republicanism, not an autocrat. https://thephilosopher.net/machiavelli/wp-content/uploads/sites/132/2025/05/The-Art-of-War-Niccolo-Machiavelli.pdf