The current state of the liberal arts across the world—that our places of learning “market themselves based on how well they prepare students for money-making and other servile ends” and de-emphasize the “cultivation of the leisure necessary for the life of the mind”—can be traced back in some capacity to Machiavelli’s subversion of the teleological tradition and re-definition of humanity’s end as the aggressive acquisitiveness of power, materials, and wealth. By actively discouraging moral or spiritual growth, Machiavelli turns us away from the virtue of Aristotle—in which wisdom, moderation, and justice are the key to ultimate fulfillment—and directs us instead towards an end that is immoral, selfish, and materialistic. Above all, however, it is entirely unattainable. There is no leisure or final satisfaction if we accept Machiavelli’s understanding of human ends, nature, or virtue. After all, we cannot possibly acquire everything—but even so, that certainly will not stop us from being unsatisfied until we do. With no way to perfect the soul, achieve inner peace, or find happiness, we will consume everyone and everything in our path—without any regard for the things which we must trample to receive our next injection of temporary pleasure—until the end of time, doomed to an eternal cycle of torment in which there is no end or escape. And yet, it seems that this is the world we live in. Workers are forced to toil grueling hours for measly pay as their employers devise ever-crueler strategies to extract every cent of profit they can from them—but even when the day is done, everyone returns to their homes and wastes away in the glare of their television screens, oblivious to any semblance of purpose beyond the debauchery that Machiavelli encourages. Even the liberal arts have been hijacked, as students care more now about “gainful employment” and commodious living than the good—the legitimate good—that may come to them through education. There is neither leisure nor happiness in this state of affairs. By allowing ourselves to accept Machiavelli’s tempting response to our most based desires, we have neglected the promise of leisure and happiness extended to us by Aristotle. But just as we made the choice to allow our world to become this way, we can make the choice to change it once more. The hand of Aristotle remains extended to us, waiting for us to take it. If we wish to reclaim our world—and perhaps our humanity—we must start with the liberal arts, of which the intent was always to order us toward the examined life. Doing so is the only way by which we might reach our true end—happiness.

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