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Alternative conceptions of politics within the myth of Venice

University of British Columbia

The reputation of the Venetian Republic as a model regime provided substance for a number of sixteenth century political writers. Moreover, the diffuse nature of this reputation, which has more recently been characterized as the 'myth of Venice', made it possible for these men to utilize the Venetian model for three wholly disparate conceptions of the nature of politics. Although the writers under investigation all employed the model of Venice to address the issues of 'polities', we find that, in fact, they portray three separate and alternative conceptions of politics--of the purpose of the civil society and of the nature of political action. Gasparo Contarini drew upon the reputation of Venice to portray a conception of politics as the lessons of history. The heritage of the Republic contained within it the traditions which not only provided the individual with a sense of civic identity, but also a number of patterns for political action which the founding fathers of Venice had wisely fashioned after those patterns infused by God into nature. The task of the political man, then, was to discover (or re-discover) those patterns and infuse them into positive law. Paolo Paruta and Paolo Sarpi portrayed politics as a moral endeavour, and drew upon the Venetian experience to bolster their notions of the sanctity of the individual and the importance of individual action. For these men the civil society was of value in that it was properly an institution for the ennoblement of men and an aide in their quest for perfection. Political man is portrayed here as a participant in the affairs of the civil society, and the value of that participation derives from the fact that it allows him to exercise his moral potential. Lastly, Franceso Patrizi and Ludovico Agostini drew upon the reputation of the Republic for the efficient provision of goods and service to her inhabitants and upon the bureaucratic nature of her government' to portray political man as an artificer who relies upon reason and expertise to construct and maintain a government whose task it is to co-ordinate the various functions of society. Government here is dedicated to ensuring the material goods of life, and its value is as a tool to achieve those goods.

Text

2010-02-27

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/21170

Political Science

University of British Columbia

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