Episode · Conversations with Tyler · 2026-03-18
Books mentioned on Harvey Mansfield on Machiavelli, Straussianism, and the Character of Liberal Democracy
Buy tickets for the live Conversations with Tyler recording with Craig Newmark at 92NY! Few living scholars can claim to have shaped how we read Machiavelli as decisively as Harvey Mansfield.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
Discourses on Livy
Discourses on Livy is a foundational political treatise by Niccolò Machiavelli that examines the mechanics of republican government and historical regime transitions through the lens of Roman history.
Discussed“The longest chapter in Machiavelli’s two great works, The Prince and The Discourses on Livy, is the chapter on conspiracy.”
-
The prince
Niccolò Machiavelli's classic political treatise examines how rulers acquire, maintain, and wield power through pragmatism rather than traditional morality.
Discussed“The longest chapter in Machiavelli’s two great works, The Prince and The Discourses on Livy, is the chapter on conspiracy.”
-
The Republic
The Republic by Plato is a foundational philosophical dialogue exploring justice, the ideal state, and the nature of the human soul.
Discussed“Why is it that we still read Plato’s Republic, say, 2,500 years later?”
-
Natural Right and History
Natural Right and History by Leo Strauss is a foundational work of political philosophy that examines the philosophical origins and evolution of natural law and liberalism.
Recommended“Look for a Straussian or look at Strauss’s books, especially Natural Right and History.”
-
Persecution and the art of writing
Persecution and the art of writing by Leo Strauss is a collection of essays investigating how historical philosophers deliberately concealed dangerous or unorthodox political ideas beneath layers of esoteric writing to survive political and religious censorship.
Recommended“Also, Persecution and the Art of Writing, which is his explanation of esoteric writing.”
