Christianity and government

During Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin, at one point Carlson asked Putin "How can a government be Christian?" And I thought, What this young man Carlson needs is the book I edited, the Anti-Machiavel.

You see, at the time of Shakespeare, the big revolutionary philosopher was Machiavelli. Especially on the continent, Machiavelli held sway over the minds of statesmen like some diabolical Svengali. It is much the same today, only now the American Neoconservatives are the most ardent disciples of the Florentine.

I will argue from a practical point of view that Machiavelli is becoming obsolete, insofar as he represents deception as the chief means of governing. As they say, you can fool some of the people all the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time, and now it only takes one smart person with a smartphone, and your deception is at an end. I absolutely hate smartphones, I have intentionally smashed several just for the satisfaction, but I will take the trade-off. 

Also, Machiavelli represents a curious blend of unduly pessimistic cynicism and wishful thinking. Wishful thinking in the sense that "the insolence of office," in Shakespeare's memorable phrase, will not obtain you any credit when you are judged by God.

Anyway, Machiavelli really brought this question into relief, How can a governor be Christian? You might be surprised, in fact, clemency and mercy tend to make governments more popular, and thus of longer duration. Hard dealing is not appreciated by the people. Read the Anti-Machiavel, you can skip parts that are tedious but it's a hugely important book, there's a ton of historical examples in there. If you want to know the classical education of Shakespeare, this is the book.