- What is the relationship between Neo-Machiavellianism and contemporary political/economic theory?
- Is The Hunger Games a Neo-Machiavellian text? If not do you agree that the ruler in the novel is a traditional Machiavellian figure?
Undoubtedly, yes. Look around and see what is going on everywhere in Latin America, Middle East, Asia and even Europe.
I've just watched the first part of the movie. Actually it was great in its idea but I can not judge on the ruler unless completing it thoroughly.
Thanks Dr. Hanan. The violence and the dystopian world that the novelist presents is shocking, viewing its impact on the life of children. Their innocent world is violated by the political system which renders their into savages fighting for food.
I think in this case it's important to separate Machiavelli's empirical accounts of politics from the mere immoral pragmatism that many associate with the term Machiavellian. The Hunger Games by contrast takes place in a fictional world set in the future that is clearly dystopian. It does not seem like the author is arguing that the regime behind the Hunger Games is simply how politics is or what is necessary in order to ensure order in a society. It rather seems like a warning against what could happen if certain trends are taken to the extreme. So, while I don't think the author is necessary wielding a neo-Machiavellian perspective in the Hunger Games novel, the leaders of the regime seem to abide by such a perspective, as they believe the Hunger Games are essential for maintaining order and cooperation between all the regions.
However, the subsequent books in the series, Catching Fire and Mocking Jay, provide some evidence for a possible counterargument to what I have posed above. In these sequels, we see the regime begin to break down as the protagonists begin to band together and actively resist the oppression they are subjected to. Yet, this resistance is itself flawed, as in the final book there is a build up of tension between Katniss and the resistance leader, since the latter appears to edge slowly but steadily closer to the ideologies and practices of the regime. After the regime is defeated, the resistance leader attempts to institute themselves as a sort of dictator, merely putting a new face on the old system, but is killed by Katniss in the closing scenes of the book. The question that remains here is whether Katniss could also be viewed as neo-Machiavellian by resorting to assassination to accomplish a political goal, acting seemingly out of necessity when seeing no other option to stop the denigration of the resistance's values. If Katniss is viewed as neo-Machievellian, there could be grounds to argue that the author is expressing either a futility to resist neo-Machievellianism as the only reality for politics, or if to the contrary, the author is using this scene to illustrate that neo-Machiavellianism is unsustainable in the long run, as it creates continuous build-ups of contention that explode into violent, system-breaking conflicts.
Many thanks for your in-depth analysis. Your comment is highly appreciated. It assists me to see how to approach the topic. That is exactly what I intend to prove.
@ Justin Patrick
This is a very interesting and remarkable topic of discussion. First of all, I would like to thank you for opening such a subject.
First of all, one should not understand Machiavellianism as "every road to the goal is permissible". Machiavelli builds his thinking on human greed, selfishness and evil nature. Hence the novel (and film) this evil and selfish nature; its socio-political reflections reveals strikingly. Similarly, the struggle of those who participate in the game for survival is resembles to some extent the political workings of liberal democracies today.. Relevant episodes of the film series often reminded of "House of Cards".
Finally, the following sentence from Justin Patrick was very beautiful and revealing: "neo-Machiavellianism is unsustainable in the long run, as it creates continuous build-ups of contention that explode into violent, system-breaking conflicts."
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