On the Purpose of the State: Promotion of Virtue or Annihilation of the Enemy?

Abstract

This article intends to argue in favor of the need to expand our understanding of the nature of politics and, therefore, invites a return to classical political philosophy as an instrument of criticism to the realistic paradigm forged and consolidated by modern political thought. In the first part, the article explores similarities and differences between the ideias of Aristotle and Maquiavelli and highlights the rupture between ethics and politics that marks the birth of modern political reflection. Then, an analysis of the political ideas of Carl Schmitt, an important representative of maquiavellian realism in contemporary thought, is carried out. In the third part, the need for a new Renaissance is suggested starting from the revival of some of the main ethical-political ideas of Plato and Aristotle. Finally, it is proposed to retrieve friendship as a central category for thinking about political life.