Machiavelli and the Revolt of the Ciompi Workers of Florence.
Are mass riots the result of the evil nature of humans or the product of unjust institutional structures? The rise of Ciompi in Renaissance Florence is one of the most vivid historical examples to answer this question. This progressive labor movement, established in the context of the structural exclusion of wool workers from political power, not only shook the foundations of the Florentine oligarchy, but also became the basis for one of Niccolò Machiavelli's most complex readings of the relationship between "people", "elite" and "power". A narrative in which the betrayal of the moderate leaders puts a bullet in the body of democratic ideals.
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