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MACHIAVELLI’S CONCEPTION OF LAW: CAUTELS OF THE REPUBLICAN LEGISLATOR
Damir Grubiša
; Fakultet političkih znanosti Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
In the history of political ideas, appropriate attention is paid to Machiavelli’s
political thought, but most authors who research or interpret Machiavelli neglect
his reflections about the place and role of law in the establishment of a
new order and new political institutions. Machiavelli’s name does not appear
in overviews of the history of renaissance law, for Machiavelli did not write
systematically on law, nor did he pay special attention to it. Instead, the whole
body of his work is permeated by his conception of law, particularly the Discourses
on Livy, which focus on republics and the republican regime. This article
attempts to rehabilitate Machiavelli as a political writer which perceived
law as an important instrument of politics, without which it is not possible to
found a state or manage common affairs in a state community. And since, in
his political theory, the central role belongs not only to the ruler (whether in a
monarchic or in a republican regime), but also to the legislator, it is attempted
here, through his inquiry into the role and task of the legislator, to deduce his
conception of law. The result of this deduction is that law is most certainly not
an insignificant subject in Machiavelli’s political theory. On the contrary, it
is central to the idea of good government, which is realized in the trinomial:
vivere libero – vivere civile – vivere politico (free life – civil life – political
life). Good laws, in addition to good weapons (army), are the foundation of
each state – in particular, of each republic – in which the role of laws is to incite
citizens to subordinate their selfish interests to the common good with the
purpose of creating a free, secure and prosperous political community. The
citizens are motivated to defend such a community, for thereby they defend
and secure also their own freedom, security and well-being. The author, therefore,
analyses Discourses on Livy, which focus especially on the role of the
republican legislator, who is thus placed alongside the ruler: a good ruler must
also be a good legislator, and in a republic, the ruler (in the figure of the chief
of state) is elected precisely on the basis of the laws, and he is authorized to
propose laws in the interest of the common good.
Ključne riječi
ruler; legislator; laws; republic; law; politics
Hrčak ID:
64123
URI
Datum izdavanja:
16.1.2011.
Posjeta: 2.004 *