Machiavelli’s Idea of The Omnipotent Legislator
Machiavelli’s idea of the Omnipotent Legislator essentially advocates political absolutism. It is often treated as the genesis of the idea of modern sovereign States.
According to Machiavelli, a successful State must be founded by a single man and the laws and government which he creates determine the national character of his people.
Moral and civic virtue grows out of law and the wisdom and foresight of the lawgiver. When a society has become corrupt, it can never reform itself but by one lawgiver who can establish a successful State and shape the national character of his people by enacting suitable laws. The lawgiver is the architect not only of the State but of society as well, with all its moral, religious, and economic institutions.
According to Machiavelli, there is practically no limit to what the lawgiver can do, if he understands the rules of his art. He can tear down old States, build new ones, change forms of government, transplant populations, and instil new virtues into the character of his subjects.
ASSESSMENT OF MACHIAVELLI’S IDEA OF THE OMNIPOTENT LEGISLATOR
There are two main reasons for the development of the myth of the lawgiver by Machiavelli:
- Whenever there is widespread corruption and moral decay, as witnessed in 16th century Italy, a military power strong enough to control it and evolve a new public spirit and civic loyalty is considered necessary. Machiavelli sees an absolute ruler as the only arbiter of a nation’s fate.
- Machiavelli assumed human nature as radically egoistic. The State and the force behind the law are seen as the only power that can regulate human conduct and hold society together.
Machiavelli’s Omnipotent Legislator, as the creator of the State, is not only outside the law but outside morality as well. There is no standard to judge his acts except the success of his political action.
Machiavelli openly sanctioned the use of cruelty, deceit, violence, or any other means necessary to achieve political end. He remarked, “When the act accuses him, the result should excuse him.”
When Machiavelli was playing with the idea of the Omnipotent Legislator, he was essentially talking about State sovereignty. However, Machiavelli never developed his belief in the Omnipotent Legislator into a general theory of political absolutism as Thomas Hobbes did later.
Leave a Reply