The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom

James Burnham examines the realist tradition of political thought, analyzing power through the lens of Machiavelli and modern elite theorists like Pareto, Mosca, and Michels. He argues that politics is an objective struggle for power rather than a moral endeavor, where liberty is preserved only by a balance of competing social forces. The book provides a scientific framework for understanding how ruling minorities maintain control through myths and organizational structures.