{"id":146,"date":"2012-12-22T18:36:09","date_gmt":"2012-12-22T23:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/?page_id=146"},"modified":"2012-12-31T14:33:42","modified_gmt":"2012-12-31T19:33:42","slug":"chapter-11-agencies-you-cant-control","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-8-14\/chapter-11-agencies-you-cant-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 11: Agencies You Can\u2019t Control"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although Machiavelli\u2019s next chapter, XI: Concerning Ecclesiastical Principalities,<\/strong> might seem to fall outside the boundaries of municipal politics, it has considerable relevance to us today. In his world, the Papacy was not only an ecclesiastical power, but a temporal and military one. The church controlled many cities and had its own army. You won\u2019t find anything similar in Canada today. Or will you?<\/p>\n

Machiavelli described ecclesiastical principalities as,<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 acquired either by ability or good fortune, and they can be held without either; for they are maintained by ancient religious institutions, which are so all-powerful, and so efficacious that they sustain their princes no matter how they behave and live.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All-powerful kingdoms whose rulers aren\u2019t accountable to other princes? Sounds to me like some of our sister organizations \u2013 conservation authorities, boards of education, property assessment corporations, county governments, even provincial and federal ministries.<\/p>\n

What else<\/em> do you call those agencies that seem to be able to command loyalty and obedience from municipalities?<\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u2019s cynical of me to suggest, but when I read Machiavelli\u2019s words that,<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing upheld by powers, to which the human mind cannot reach \u2026 it would be the act of a presumptuous and rash man to discuss them\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I can\u2019t help but think of these agencies and their untouchable, almost divine authority. It doesn\u2019t have to be a religious authority: it can be any strong ideology that gives them strength. And, as Machiavelli says, those people who imbibe of that ideology are impervious to arguments or challenges against it:<\/p>\n

\u201cThese princes alone have states but do not defend them; they have subjects but do not rule them; and the states, although undefended, are not taken from them. The subjects, although not governed, do not care, and they have neither the desire nor the ability to alienate themselves.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lost Battles<\/h2>\n

Ever try to argue over your municipality\u2019s high educational levy with a school board? Or argue about anything else with that board? Ever try to get your conservation authority levy lowered? You quickly find those boards can do as they wish, even in contravention of your municipal laws and policies. Sure seems like divine authority to me.<\/p>\n

In Ontario, boards of education get to comment on development applications, even if they are in no way related to schools. When one small municipality did not approve a school application to build more portables on its already portable-dense property, the school board refused to comment on development applications. Without their approvals, all developments were in limbo, and could not proceed.<\/p>\n

In the end, council had to give in and allow the portables to be placed, in order to get out of the bottleneck and get other applications moving forward.<\/p>\n

This event fits with Machiavelli\u2019s comment that, although the temporal power of these agencies seems minimal, not even kings have been able to overthrow an ecclesiastical power:<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery baron and lord\u2026 has had little regard for the church\u2019s temporal power, yet now the King of France trembles before it, and the church has been able to drive him from Italy\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In Machiavelli\u2019s example, the Pope flaunted his authority by withholding appointments of cardinals in the lands of his enemies, which caused as great a turmoil then as withholding planning approvals did in our times:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe held two things firm: the one, the greatness of the church, with which he terrified them; and the other, not allowing them to have their own cardinals, who caused the disorders among them.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Municipalities cannot win battles against them, nor does Machiavelli suggest princes attempt to do so. Tremble in awe, and leave them alone.
\n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/em>
\nPrevious Chapter<\/a> – Next Chapter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although Machiavelli\u2019s next chapter, XI: Concerning Ecclesiastical Principalities, might seem to fall outside the boundaries of municipal politics, it has considerable relevance to us today. In his world, the Papacy was not only an ecclesiastical power, but a temporal and military one. The church controlled many cities and had its own army. You won\u2019t find … Continue reading “Chapter 11: Agencies You Can\u2019t Control”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":251,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-146","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-1-7\/chapter-1-home-town-kingdoms\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":0},"title":"Chapter 1: Home Town Kingdoms","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"In Chapter I: How Many Kinds of Principalities There Are, and by What Means They Are Acquired, Machiavelli opened The Prince with a brief description of two types of states common in his contemporary Italy: \u201cAll states, all powers\u2026 are either republics or\u00a0principalities.\u201d In his day, almost every state in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-1-7\/chapter-4-flexing-your-muscles\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":1},"title":"Chapter 4: Flexing Your Muscles","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Machiavelli titled his Chapter IV: Why the Kingdom of Darius, Conquered by Alexander, Did Not Rebel Against the Successors of Alexander at His Death. 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Newer editions break up those long pieces into\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":97,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-1-7\/chapter-7-with-friends-like-these-who-needs-enemies\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":4},"title":"Chapter 7: With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes you win an election because you were lucky:\u00a0you happened to be in the right place at the right time. A few years ago, when the federal Conservative and Reform parties were independent and competing, they both often ran candidates in one riding. The result was a split vote on\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":158,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-15-21\/chapter-15-looking-good-acting-bad\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":5},"title":"Chapter 15: Looking Good, Acting Bad","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"In Chapter XV: Concerning Things for Which Men, and Especially Princes, Are Praised or Blamed, Machiavelli wrote that his approach was different from that of other advisors, many of whom merely imagined how the world is, rather than living in it. 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