Niccolo Machiavelli - PDF

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) Studied Latin, probably attended the University of Florence Appointed as a chancellor of Florence Traveling diplomat The Medici attacked and took over Florence Imprisoned and tortured him Later released, went to his family...

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) Studied Latin, probably attended the University of Florence Appointed as a chancellor of Florence Traveling diplomat The Medici attacked and took over Florence Imprisoned and tortured him Later released, went to his family farm Wrote The Prince to try to regain status, trying to get his old job back but under the Medici Dedicated to the Medici Also wrote Discourses about republics Eventually started to get back into a government role But then dies Idealists vs Realists “Many writers have dreamed up republics and principalities such as have never been seen or known in the real world. And attending to them is dangerous, because the gap between how men live and how they ought to live is so wide that any prince who thinks in terms not of how people do behave but of how they ought to behave will destroy his power rather than maintaining it. A man who tries to act virtuously will soon come to grief at the hands of the unscrupulous people surrounding him. Thus, a prince who wants to keep his power must learn how to act immorally, using or not using this skill according to necessity.” (33) Love or Fear? “A question arises out of this, namely: Is it better to be loved than feared or better to be feared than loved? Well, one would like to be both; but it’s difficult for one person to be both feared and loved, and when a choice has to be made it is safer to be feared. The reason for this is a fact about men in general: they are ungrateful, fickle, deceptive, cowardly and greedy. As long as you are doing them good, they are entirely yours: they’ll offer you their blood, their property, their lives, and their children—as long as there is no immediate prospect of their having to make good on these offerings; but when that changes, they’ll turn against you.” (36) Machiavelli’s Terms Virtù – ability, or strength, or virtue The character of princes may require abilities and strengths out of line with traditional virtues if they are to continue to rule Fortuna – circumstances beyond one’s control Things for Which Princes Are Praised or Blamed It’s dangerous to be an idealist Only the unvirtuous can survive in a world of unvirtuous people Traditional virtues: generous, merciful, trustworthy, brave, friendly, chaste, honest, stable, serious, religious Traditional vices: Miserly, ungenerous, cruel, untrustworthy, cowardly, arrogant, promiscuous, devious, fickle, frivolous, unbelieving A prince can’t have all the traditional virtues and maintain his state, he should just avoid the vices or virtues that will cost him his state The traditional virtues and vices are not really virtues and vices for princes Sometimes vices are good for maintaining rule and virtues bad for maintaining it The free spender and the tightwad It’s better to be seen as miserly Otherwise, you’ll spend all your money, have to impose new taxes, and your subjects will hate you It makes sense to save money and conserve resources to be prepared for attacks from rivals It’s best not to impose extra taxes to remain popular What about Caesar spreading his wealth around on his way to becoming emperor? If you’re trying to become popular you can spend, but once on top you need to conserve money One exception is if you can obtain the wealth of others by conquest Cruelty and Mercy Don’t be too merciful, since that can lead to uprising, or too cruel And try to just be cruel to individuals, so the majority aren’t offended If you can’t be both loved and feared, it is better to be feared Should inspire fear without hate Don’t take subject’s property or take away their romantic partners “…a man will forget the death of his father sooner than he would forget the loss of the property his father left to him.” On campaign with soldiers, need to cultivate a reputation for cruelty, for that holds the army together Needs to be an object of respect and terror for his soldiers If you are too lenient, the army will mutiny How princes should keep their word To achieve greatness, you must not keep your word Need to be clever and tough Others won’t keep their promises to you, so you shouldn’t keep your promises to them Should appear to be virtuous, but not really “Switch any virtue off if that will serve your purposes” Always say virtuous things Just do unvirtuous things behind the scenes “…the common people are always impressed by appearances and outcomes, and the world contains only common people!” How to Avoid Attracting Contempt and Hatred Avoid things that will bring hatred and contempt upon you Don’t steal your subjects property or romantic interests Keep the people satisfied Looking at the Roman emperors, the just and modest came to a sad end They were too lenient What a Prince Should Do to Acquire Prestige To acquire prestige, do great things Build up a military, conquer How to Avoid Flatterers Give your cabinet the freedom to tell you the truth “The more openly you speak to me, the better I will like it.” Get angry if someone is holding something back Fortuna in Human Affairs and How to Withstand It Many have thought that what happens in the world is governed by fortune Many say we can do nothing to alter our fortune But we can prepare for what fortune can throw at us Can set up barriers and walls to defend ourselves against it Rulers have different methods of ruling, but whether they will succeed depends on the time and the circumstance Fortune changes, and if we are to succeed we must change with it Impossible to Be Virtuous Are there virtues that are truly virtues no matter your role in society? (Political leader vs. ordinary person) Are people in general virtuous? Or are they not virtuous as Machiavelli claims? Is it impossible to be virtuous and survive and flourish around all the people who are not virtuous? Do politicians have to do bad things to keep our political order going? Are they entitled to do this?