The Many and the Few

The Many and the Few reconstructs a pattern of recurring populist themes in the writings of Francesco Guicciardini and Niccol Machiavelli. These two pioneering thinkers of the late Renaissance are almost always presented in terms of dramatic contrasts while Machiavelli's violent populism and scorn for aristocratic culture is well established, many consider Guicciardini the most influential Renaissance advocate of narrow, elitist regimes. In The Many and the Few, Mark Jurdjevic challenges these pre-existing beliefs and argues that Guicciardini was a vastly more complex thinker who subjected his own aristocratic ideals to devastating scrutiny. demonstrates that Guicciardini's contribution was a Trojan horse: it appeared to confirm this tradition even while affirming every aspect of Machiavelli's critique.