Od “necessitas non habet legem” do racji stanu : kilka uwag o rewolucji w języku polityki w szesnastowiecznych Włoszech

The article presents Niccolò Machiavelli's contribution to the development of the modern concept and language of politics. I embark on an analysis of the key concepts Machiavelli brought into the language of politics to show that his view of the state and raison d'état gave rise to the modern theory of the state and law, even though he had been nurtured on the medieval tradition of political thought. Unlike the medieval theoreticians of politics, Machiavelli put special emphasis on the endurance and growth of the state, making them the primary objectives of political activity and replacing the common good - the concept which was the cornerstone of the classical tradition - with the concept of raison d'état. For him the basic criterion for the assessment of political action and the way the state worked was no longer the concept of justice, harmony or the good life, but effectiveness