Patrick Boucheron – författare

Where can the danger be lurking? Two soldiers are huddled together, one gazing up at the sky, the other darting a sideward glance. They derive a tacit reassurance from their weapons, but they are both in their different ways alone and scared. They were painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, and they seem symptomatic of a state of emergency: the year was 1338, and the spectre of the signoria, of rule by one man, was abroad in the city, undermining the very idea of the common good. In this book, distinguished historian Patrick Boucheron uncovers the rich social and political dimensions of the iconic ‘Fresco of Good Government’. He guides the reader through Lorenzetti’s divided city, where peaceful prosperity and leisure sit alongside the ever-present threats of violence, war and despotism. Lorenzetti’s painting reminds us crucially that good government is not founded on the wisdom of principled or virtuous rulers. Rather, good government lies in the visible and tangible effects it has on the lives of its citizens. By subjecting it to scrutiny, we may, at least for a while, be able to hold at bay the dark seductions of tyranny. From fourteenth-century Siena to the present, The Power of Images shows the latent dangers to democracy when our perceptions of the common good are distorted and undermined. It will appeal to students and scholars in art history, politics and the humanities, as well as to anyone interested in the nature of power.

Where can the danger be lurking? Two soldiers are huddled together, one gazing up at the sky, the other darting a sideward glance. They derive a tacit reassurance from their weapons, but they are both in their different ways alone and scared. They were painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, and they seem symptomatic of a state of emergency: the year was 1338, and the spectre of the signoria, of rule by one man, was abroad in the city, undermining the very idea of the common good. In this book, distinguished historian Patrick Boucheron uncovers the rich social and political dimensions of the iconic ‘Fresco of Good Government’. He guides the reader through Lorenzetti’s divided city, where peaceful prosperity and leisure sit alongside the ever-present threats of violence, war and despotism. Lorenzetti’s painting reminds us crucially that good government is not founded on the wisdom of principled or virtuous rulers. Rather, good government lies in the visible and tangible effects it has on the lives of its citizens. By subjecting it to scrutiny, we may, at least for a while, be able to hold at bay the dark seductions of tyranny. From fourteenth-century Siena to the present, The Power of Images shows the latent dangers to democracy when our perceptions of the common good are distorted and undermined. It will appeal to students and scholars in art history, politics and the humanities, as well as to anyone interested in the nature of power.

We turn to Machiavelli at every tumultuous period in history - he is the one who knows how to philosophize in dark times. In fact, since his death in 1527, we have never stopped reading him, always to pull ourselves out of a torpor. But what do we really know about this man? Is there more to his work than that term for political evil, Machiavellianism?It was Machiavelli's luck to be disappointed by every statesman he encountered - that was why he had to create his paper Prince. Today, the question that remains is not why he wrote, but for whom - for princes or for those who want to resist them? What is the art of governing? Is it to take power, or to keep it? In this timely book, Patrick Boucheron undoes many of our assumptions about Machiavelli, showing how his rich, complex thought is key to understanding his time, and may be crucial to interrogating our own.

« Il n’est qu’une seule espèce humaine sur la Terre, et cette espèce est migrante. Depuis le début de l’histoire, nous sommes embarqués. Et, aujourd’hui, nous sommes écrasés sous le poids de notre fardeau, celui de notre responsabilité face à l’histoire : car nous savons que nous serons jugés sur notre capacité à affronter la situation des migrants. Ce livre est un appel au calme, un effort de description réaliste. On estime qu’il y a actuellement dans le monde 244 millions de migrants, dont 100 millions sont des migrants forcés. L’Europe est un continent d’immigration au même titre que les États-Unis. Telle est la réalité. On oppose généralement les beaux principes aux dures réalités. Mais nous sommes bien, avec le présent ouvrage, dans le réel. Ce qu’il réclame de nous ? De la considération. » Patrick Boucheron. Ce livre regroupe les contributions du colloque tenu au Collège de France à l’automne 2016. Patrick Boucheron est historien et professeur au Collège de France, titulaire de la chaire d’Histoire des pouvoirs en Europe occidentale, xiiie-xvie siècle. Introduction d’Alain Prochiantz, administrateur du Collège de France, titulaire de la chaire « Processus morphogénétiques ». Avec les contributions de Michel Agier, Christophe Ayad, Sébastien Balibar, Pierre Briant, Pascal Brice, Dominique Charpin, Dimitris Christopoulos, Annie Cohen-Solal, Diane Dosso, François-Xavier Fauvelle, Peter Harling, François Héran, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Fabienne Lassalle, Danièle Lochak, Leoluca Orlando, Lluis Quintana-Murci, Marie-Caroline Saglio-Yatzimirsky, Ousmane Oumarou Sidibé, Benjamin Stora, Alain Tarrius, Hélène Thiollet, Isabelle Thireau.

Con este libro, escuchamos a Maquiavelo, como todos los demás antes que nosotros, en el futuro. Desde su muerte en 1527, nunca hemos dejado de leerlo y siempre se separa del letargo. Pero ¿qué sabemos de este hombre, excepto el nombre inventado por sus críticos para designar esa angustia colectiva, ese mal político, el maquiavelismo?Aquí se traza un itinerario claro de cómo, poco a poco, el autor florentino agudiza su estilo. En él, todo es bueno, siempre que uno pueda ejercer el arte de la palabra correcta, "la verdad real de la cosa": "El amor es preferible, pero la fuerza, a veces, inevitable". La suerte de Maquiavelo siempre ha sido decepcionada por los estadistas que encontró en su camino. Por eso tuvo que escribir El príncipe. Si el libro intenta disociar la acción política de la moral común, aún queda la cuestión de saber, no por qué, sino para quién escribe Maquiavelo. ¿Para los príncipes, o para aquellos que quieren resistirse a ellos? ¿Y qué es el arte de gobernar? ¿Es tomar el poder, o conservarlo? ¿Qué es la gente? ¿Puede gobernarse a sí misma? Las buenas leyes ¿nacen de legisladores virtuosos? ¿Puede el fin justificar los medios? En Un verano con Maquiavelo, libro surgido de una serie de transmisiones hechas durante el verano de 2016 en France Inter, Patrick Boucheron nos ilumina este despertador inclasificable, visionario y ardiente como un sol de verano en la tierra toscana.