Frederick II and Machiavelli. A reinterpretation

The present article suggests we should not see any contradiction between the politics adopted by Frederick the Great following the conquest of Silesia and his Anti-Machiavel, which contained a decidedly negative outlook on Machiavelli, nor should we deem Frederick's claim to Enlightenment to conflict with his Machtpolitik. Frederick's Enlightenment is clearly sui generis, consisting in nothing but a radically pragmatic rationalism. What results from a similar position is a philosophical worldview based upon an ethics which is at the same time naturalistic and social. Frederick aims at reconciling self-love with the quest for the common good, sacrificing the former to the latter in case they should be incompatible with one another. Therefore Machiavelli is denounced as a moral philosopher, who lets the prince's private interest prevail over that of the State. Expansionism, necessary to the State's growth, is hence a moral and political duty of the sovereign. The king's duties exceed those of private individuals. Not only carrying out wars, but also conquering and breaking pacts can have a moral value, as long as the sovereign is inspired by the common good and not by Machiavelli's false morality.