Machiavelli

Power is the pivot on which everyrhing hinges. He who has the power is always right; the weaker is always wrong.

Nicolo Machiavelli

Power for the ruler and a powerless population.. A motivation which is still adored with many rulers in our modern world.

Lets look into the life of Machiavelli lli and world he lived in. But also into the influence on our present society.

When we analyze the history of  Nationalism there is no way we can get around Nicolo Machiavelli. He was a 16th -century Italian political philosopher, republican and statesman who wrote the famous treatise “The Prince”about how to acquire and maintain power. He is considered the founder of modern political science and one of the most influential thinkers of the Renaissance. His principles are more based on realistic and pragmatic of human nature and politics than on idealistic or moralistic assumptions.  This is clearly shown on the following principles.

● The ends justify the means: A ruler should do whatever is necessary to achieve his goals, even if it involves deception, violence or immorality.

●It is better to be feared than loved:A ruler should inspire fear and respect in his subjects, rather than affection and loyalty , as fear is more reliable and lasting than love.

●The appearance of virtue: A ruler should appear to be virtuous and honorable , even if he is not, as this will help him gain the  trust and admiration of the people.

These are some of the most famous and controversial principles of Machiavelli, which have influenced many political leaders and thinkers throughout history. Even in this modern world these principles are acceptable for some leaders while others feel great contempt for Machiavelli.

But lets also analyze the life of Machiavelli and the time he lived in.

Machiavelli was born in Florence (may 3,1469). For many this was a very turbulent time . There were many city states in Italy who all wanted to be or become the main power. Let us not forget the Holy Roman empire and also states like France and Spain who all wanted a peace of the cake. Peace was really far away and a utopia.

Machiavelli had however a intellectual youth. His father had before experienced better financial periods but was in financial problems when he grew up. Still his father was able to give his son good education and provided Nicolo with access to many books and was also taught in grammar and Latin and even in Rhetoric. It was a period of many city states during the Renaissance and Machiavelli had great curiosity in the writings and culture of ancient Greece. In his younger years Florence was also ruled by the Medici family, but then the republic restored in 1496 and the Medici family was expelled.

This seems to have been of benefit to Machiavelli because he was then appointed as a secretary of the second chancery which was a writing office. After that he was appointed as a secretary of the “Dieci di Liberta e Pace” In the first years of the 16 th century he had also to carry out several diplomatic missions and witnessed the brutal state building by Cesare Borgia (1475-1507) and Pope Alexander VI.  Added to this were his visits to the Court of Louis XII in France and the court of Spain. These experiences influenced him strongly to write “The Prince” which was a adoration of nationalism at any cost possible. One of his sayings from his book is “To defend your country , any crime is allowed”. That doesn`t look as a healthy of a free humane and democratic society. But let us be realistic. Even in modern times where we live in now these controversial ideas are still the foundation of many countries where freedom lost its influence.

However times changed  and the Medici family came, after the defeat of Florence at Prato, in power again. This changed the political writing completely and Machiavelli was exiled and in 1513 accused of conspiracy.  And tortured by the “rope”. This meant he was hanged with his wrists bound on his back forcing his arms to bear the body weight and this resulted in dislocating his shoulders. Yes, cruelty is of all times.  In that aspect we learned little from our history. But Machiavelli didn`t confess and was exiled. Hi retired after this to his farm estate. Here he wrote his major works “The Prince” and “The discourses of Livius”. The books are really fundamental to understand the aimes of Machiavelli.

The Prince

This is the best known work of Machiavelli and was written in the early 16th century. It`s  polarizing text  and debated for centuries. Some view it as  a very influential work which explores the nature of power and leadership. Others as a cynical treatise about power. It offers anyway advise to rulers on how to acquire, maintain and expand their power. It delves into the various tactics and strategies that leaders can employ to navigate the complex political landscape of their time.

One of the ideas “The Prince” gives is that the ruler must prioritize over morality nd that he must be willing to make difficult decisions and to take ruthless actions if it serves the interests of the ruler and strengthen his power.

But the aim is not solely manipulation and deceit. Its also a guide to maintain power in a world in a world of constant power struggles.

But its also clear that we must see it in the light of the  violent times Machiavelli lived in. Power struggle resulted in wars and they were everywhere.  But does that mean that we must, as some would prefer, copy and promote unethical behavior in our times.

I don`t think so since the has for many developed in civilized societies where personal freedom has made great steps forward although it is clear that we must stay alert.

Discourses on Livy

This was the second most famous book of Machiavelli and it was a study and conclusions about Titus Livy. First of all who was Livy. He was a Roman citizen who was born around 59BC and he lived during the reign of emperor Augustus. Livy is to this time famous as historian who wrote down the history of Rome. The work consisted of 142 volumes from whom only 35 survived.

Machiavelli studied it intensively because of its pro-republican aspects. But the republicanism of Machiavelli differed from the idealsof the roman republic. For them power was safer in many hands. For Machiavelli that was quite different. On the contrary, for him a leader needs to “be alone” with the ruler only in power where everybody else has only the duty to obey. Or in his words  ”the end justifies the means”.  He therefore criticized philosophers like Plato , Aristotle and Cicero.

Machiavelli was very interested in the ancients but concentrated on their deeds and was therefore not very much interested in their philosophy.