Machiavelli was considered the first modern political thinker because:

 He freed political science or theory from the clutches of religion and morality.
 He was not interested in high moral or religious principles.
 His main concern was power and the practical or political interests of the state.
 It would be the primary concern of the prince and government in general to protect the
interests of state.

Machiavelli was the first thinker who took an unequivocal stand in regard to the relationship between
religion, morality and virtue on the one hand and politics on the other. He adopted a very clear stand
about politics, religion and morality.

He never denounced virtue, morality and religion. But what he emphasized is that the domain of
morality and religion is quite different from that of politics and the prince must maintain it in his treat
mental of politics.

Mechiavelli’s contributions to the political thought are highly recognized and regarded him as the chief
exponent of modern political thought. He completely rejected the feudal conception of a hierarchy of
autonomous entities & envisaged a territorial, national & sovereign state which enjoyed supreme power
over all the institutions in the society. He deserves the credit for freeing politics from the clutches of
ethics. He was also the first thinker to empathically denounce the authority of the Church & tried to
reduce it to a subordinate position to the government. Mechiavelli for the first time to offered
materialistic interpretation of the origin of the state, & completely ignored the metaphysical or
supernatural elements. However, Karl Marx also learnt from him that there is no divine order of things
designed by God in accordance with his plan for man & universe. Mechiavelli was also the first exponent
of the principle of “Power Politics”
‘

Machiavelli

- The First Modern Political Thinker

According to Dunning, “Machiavelli was in the fullest sense the child of his time”.To comprehend the full
importance of Machiavelli’s writings and their context, it

is important to understand the series of cultural, economic, social and politicalchanges that began in the
fourteenth century called the Renaissance. The end ofmiddle ages and the beginning of modern period
started with two movementsknown as Renaissance and Reformation. Renaissance came forth in Italy by
therevival of ancient thought and learning which had been buried deep by

Christianity in medieval age. Laski rightly observes that “the whole of theRenaissance is in Machiavelli”.

The immediate impact of renaissance was in Italy,which gradually spread to the rest of Europe by the
late fifteenth century. Morethan anybody else, it was Machiavelli who could understand the dynamics of
thismodern state and the modern individual. Writing at a time of political chaos andmoral confusion,
Italian unification became the chief objective for Machiavelli,

who could see “clearly the direction that political evolution was taking throughoutEurope. Machiavelli’s
attachment was to his country Italy, and not to a state as an

abstract entity. He desired to redeem Italy from servitude and misery. Like Dante,he dreamt of a united,
regenerated and glorious Italy. In order to achieve this, anymeans were justified, for the purpose was
the defense and preservation of the

state and its people. Freedom of the country and the common good remained the

core themes of Machiavelli’s writings.

Born in the year 1469 in Florence (Italy), Machiavelli belonged to an affluentfamily and was well
educated for a public career. At a young age he attained oneof the higher posts in the Government of
Florence. Later he was sent on adiplomatic mission to several foreign countries where he acquired
firsthandexperience of political and diplomatic matters. However, political upheavals in theFlorentine
Republic caused the fall in the career of Machiavelli in 1513, and hewas even put to a year's
imprisonment. He was released from prison by theinfluence of his political friends on condition that he
would retire from politicallife and refrain from all political activities. It was during this period of
forcedretirement that he induced his most memorable literary works out of which the"Prince" and the
"Discourse

” are most prominent

. Their contents spelt out hispolitical thought and earned him notoriety such as indifference to the use
ofimmoral means to achieve political purposes and the belief that governmentdepended largely on
force and era. Machiavelli was the creator of thisrenaissance which dominated Italy in general and
Florence in particular. He stoodon the border line between the middle and the modern ages. The age
ofMachiavelli has been called the ages of bastards and adventures. It was a societyintellectually brilliant
and artistically creative. But it was a victim to worst politicalcorruption and degeneration. Cruelty and
murder were normal methods ofgovernment. Force and craft were keys to success. Society was
leaderless. Thepublic leaders were activated more by selfish motive than by public interest.Church
according to Machiavelli has kept and still keeps our country divided.Public morality was very low, the
Pope authority in Italy constituted greatlytowards political degradation. Popes were opposed to the
unification of Italy,which was divided into five states.In such an atmosphere, Machiavelli lived and wrote
books. This degenerating anddepressing state of Italy could not leave uninfluenced and unmoved a
sensitive

patriot and keen observer like Machiavelli. Dunning remarked, “The era was ofthe strong man and
Machiavelli’s writings give copious evidence that he realized

this fact. His writings are mainly influenced by the then prevailing situation whichhalf the time was the
battle ground of conspirators and ambitious politicians-localas well as foreign.

Conclusion

Machiavelli is known as a father of modern political theory. Machiavelli was thefirst pragmatist in the
history of political thought. His method and approach toproblems of politics were guided by common
sense and history. Apart fromtheorizing about the state he has also given meaning to the concept
ofsovereignty. Machiavelli was the first who gave the idea of secularism. Butdespite this he is criticized
by many like William Shakespeare who

called him “TheMurderous Machieval” or “A Damned Machieval”. Interestingly, Machiavelli also

has many admirers too like Spinoza, Rousseau, etc. who praised his writings. Due

to his outstanding works in ‘The Prince’ and ‘The Discourse’, he was honored withthe title of being the
“first modern political theorist and scientist”.