Murray N. Rothbard vs. the Philosophers - Ludwig von Mises Institute

MURRAY N. ROTHBARD VS. THE PHILOSPHERS: UNPUBLISHED WRITINGS
96 ON HAYEK, MISES, STRAUSS, AND POLYANI
7.
LETTER ON
THOUGHTS ON MACHIAVELLI BY LEO STRAUSS
February 9, 1960
Dr. Ivan R. Bierly
National Book Foundation
Dear Ivan:
Leo Strauss’s Thoughts on Machiavelli does not have, it is
true, many of the weaknesses that I recently adumbrated in
his What is Political Philosophy?, for it is supposed to be
dealing with his one strong point: the adherence to political
philosophy and ethics against modern, relativist “Machiavellianism.”
45 Supposed to, I say, because this is the promise of
his introduction, a promise that is really never fulfilled. And
furthermore, while the book is not really strong on this one
point of virtue, it exhibits other grave flaws in Strauss’s thinking
that only become evident in this particular book.
First, something should be said about the manner, the texture,
the methodology of this book, which is really so absurd
as to be almost incredible. It is based on the assumption,
explicitly made at some points, that Machiavelli was a true
Devil-figure, i.e., that he was evil, and that within this framework,
he was all-wise, all-seeing, omniscient, etc. In short, a
true Lucifer of titanic proportions. Taking his two books The
Prince and The Discourses together, the result is that whenever
Machiavelli contradicts himself in any way or omits
something of note or puts in a particularly weak (to Strauss)
45 Leo Strauss, Thoughts on Machiavelli (Glencoe, Ill.: Free
Press, 1958).