The world around us is constantly changing. Every day, new ideas are produced, old lives pass, new lives are born, better technology is invented, knowledge is gained, and mistakes are made. However, it seems that human principal remains the same throughout the ages. Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513 and while I may not agree with all of his ideals, they seem to fairly represent the same government that we have today.
The Prince is a model for how Machiavelli thinks the rulers of a providence should conduct themselves. One of Machiavelli's priority suggestions for the Prince, is to maintain control of the state. The Prince should achieve this control by finding the balance between being cruel and being loved . This concept is similar to Aristotle's “means” and how there is balance to everything. I highly doubt that Aristotle would have agreed with cruelty and war, but it is the same concept. The Prince has to be cruel enough to be respected, but admirable enough to not be overthrown by the people.
This mean may have to be adjusted, though. Just an anorexic may have to aim towards gluttony to be able to achieve the mean of proper sustenance, the Prince may have to adjust his methods to maintain power of the state. According to Machiavelli, “the prince should be both feared and loved, if possible. But since it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved, if one of the two has to be given up” (285). This is a valid point because if the prince is just loved, he becomes weak and will be overthrown by the people.
This is where many rulers make the fatal mistake of wanting to just be loved. The truth is, every one will never be pleased with the actions of a ruler. The ruler, according to Machiavelli, should be wise and cunning like a fox while being powerful like a lion. They have to be strong enough to make the best decision for their state and cannot focus on pleasing every one or pleasing the surrounding states. This principal not applies to governmental rulers, but also other rulers, such as teachers or parents. I have seen so many teachers loose compete control of their learning environment because they care more about being loved by their students than educating them. By doing so, their students do love them, but do not respect them. After this point, the teacher cannot regain respect no matter how tyrannical they act.
Machiavelli also believes the Prince should appear to be, “pious, faithful, humane, honest, religious, and to be so. But he should have his mind so prepared that when occasion requires, he is able to change to the opposite” (288). This is incredibly gilded and it is outraging to know that most of our leaders probably follow this philosophy. However, upon reading a little bit further, one realizes that it only the follower's fault for letting the leader get away with these behaviors. The majority follows blindly and sees what is pleasant to the mind. Machiavelli summarizes it perfectly, “people in general judge more with their eyes than with their minds. Everyone can see; few have understanding. Everyone sees what you seem to be; few know what you really are. And those few do not dare oppose the opinion of the many, who have the power of the state to support them” (288).
The Prince, is an opinionated and powerful novel that may not have the best strategies, but there is so much truth that should not be overlooked. This is not a novel that should be read by rulers, it is a novel that should be read by followers. It would help the system work better because the governed would be able to see how the governors work and would not be fooled so easily. When the blind lead the blind, they both fall in a ditch. But when the seeing lead the blind, they go wherever the one with sight wishes to go.
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