Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes: a reflection on ECB political independence

This research focuses on the conflict between the platonic concept or pure ideal of central banks¿ independence from Governments and its practical application in real life. Plato taught us that a pure ideal is perfect because it is abstract, divorced from the external world. A pure ideal cannot be perfectly applied to a complex political scene determinate by social actors. Unlike a pure abstract and perfect ideal, reality is in fact characterized by heterogeneity and influenced by numerous uncontrollable factors. The specific events this paper examines concern the influence the ECB exerted on the Italian Political Scenario between August and November 2011 on two specific occasions, events which culminated in the forced resignation of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The conflict our research attempts to elucidate pertains to the inconsistency between the ECB's concept of political independence with the influence the ECB exerted on the Italian Political scene in 2011. The theories of Hobbes Machiavelli and Plato, ranked as a classic western work on statecraft, will be used to shape the responses obtained which will be reported and exposed in a narrative structure.