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Political Meritocracy in Renaissance Italy
The Virtuous Republic of Francesco Patrizi of Siena
James Hankins
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
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Political Meritocracy in Renaissance Italy
The Virtuous Republic of Francesco Patrizi of Siena
James Hankins
About This Book
The first full-length study of Francesco Patriziāthe most important political philosopher of the Italian Renaissance before Machiavelliāwho sought to reconcile conflicting claims of liberty and equality in the service of good governance. At the heart of the Italian Renaissance was a longing to recapture the wisdom and virtue of Greece and Rome. But how could this be done? A new school of social reformers concluded that the best way to revitalize corrupt institutions was to promote an ambitious new form of political meritocracy aimed at nurturing virtuous citizens and political leaders.The greatest thinker in this tradition of virtue politics was Francesco Patrizi of Siena, a humanist philosopher whose writings were once as famous as Machiavelli's. Patrizi wrote two major works: On Founding Republics, addressing the enduring question of how to reconcile republican liberty with the principle of merit; and On Kingship and the Education of Kings, which lays out a detailed program of education designed to instill the qualities necessary for political leadershipāabove all, practical wisdom and sound character.The first full-length study of Patrizi's life and thought in any language, Political Meritocracy in Renaissance Italy argues that Patrizi is a thinker with profound lessons for our time. A pioneering advocate of universal literacy who believed urban planning could help shape civic values, he concluded that limiting the political power of the wealthy, protecting the poor from debt slavery, and reducing the political independence of the clergy were essential to a functioning society. These ideas were radical in his day. Far more than an exemplar of his time, Patrizi deserves to rank alongside the great political thinkers of the Renaissance: Machiavelli, Thomas More, and Jean Bodin.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Frontispiece
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Note on Sources
- Timeline of Events in Patriziās Life
- Epigraphs
- Introduction
- 1. The Formation of a Political Philosopher
- 2. The Great Political Treatises
- 3. Principles of Republican Government
- 4. Meritocracy and the Optimal Republic
- 5. The Virtuous Society
- 6. Citizenship and the Virtuous Citizen
- 7. Virtuous Absolutism: Patriziās De regno
- Conclusion: Patrizi and Modern Politics
- Appendix A: List of Patriziās Works (Compiled with the assistance of Caroline Engelmayer)
- Appendix B: Editions, Translations, and Compendia of Patriziās Political Works, 1518ā1702 (Compiled by Victoria Pipas)
- Appendix C: Patriziās Epigram 14: āWhat Would Make Me Happyā (Latin text)
- Abbreviations
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Acknowledgments
- Index