The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c9.s4.t3.14

c9.s4.t3.14

Political theorists, therefore, considered it a part of the statecraft to pacify the gilds of one’s own state and try to win over the elders of the enemy’s gilds. The methods suggested in the *Mahâbhârata*² are the well known ways and means of *Realpolitik*, such as were appreciated by Philip of Macedon, Machiavelli the Italian, Walpole the Englishman, and Guizot the Frenchman. These are the corrupt practices of bribery and the sowing of dissensions among the members of corporations. Or perhaps in the language of Bolshevik economics these should partially be described as the traditional tactics of capitalism which is said to be “international” enough to seek allies even among enemy bankers.