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The Western Canon Mailing List
Moderator: Paul John Barnette Jr.
Activation Date: March 8, 1997
Current Date:  August 19, 1997
Current Membership: 100
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Response to Western Canon #076

Paul:  Very nice piece to Dr. Adler.

One approach to Machiavelli is a variation on Pascal's gamble.  His
gamble said that you can either believe in God or not.  If you don't &
there is no God, you have gained nothing.  If you don't & there is a
God, you will pay dearly.  If you believe & there isn't a God you have
lost nothing.  If you believe & there is a God you win bigtime.

Remember that Machiavelli says one must be
prepared to be bad if the situation calls for
it..he doesn't tell us to start out being bad.

So the Machiavellian gamble is this:

If you are not Machiavellian & men are good, things work out.  If they
are bad, you have lost big time.  If you are Machiavellian & men are
good you win because you don't need to be bad.  If they are bad, you do
your fear thing & the state is secure.  Seems to me you play the odds.

Pete  


Response to Western Canon #079

Congratulations to Mr. Sutherland on his piece of 8/15.

I can't do justice to all of it, but continue to believe that
Machiavelli arouses us because he presents us with the conflict of
incompatible ends (security vs. justice, the closed vs. the open
state, love vs fear) & while extolling Chrsitian virtues suggests that
the Prince simply can't run a state that way.  And, as opposed to
"others" who present us with theory, gives us a number of examples to
illustrate his point.

Do we beat on this messenger because he is wrong or because we find
his conclusions distasteful?

Pete Thigpen

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