Machiavelli - The Prince

Résumé du document

The three chapters we have from The Prince are good to understand Machiavelli's thought; they comprise advice's he gives to rulers in order to maintain their power. In this text, we understand the essence of his reflection: Princes should choose to be feared rather than to be loved if they want to preserve their power.

In the chapter 15, Machiavelli insists on the way the Prince should act with his citizens if he wants to "flourish". He speaks about the reasons rulers may be blamed or praised. According to him, a Prince has to be realist: he doesn't mind about what should be done, and does what is generally done if he wants his own preservation. In Machiavelli's opinion, a Prince cannot always act honorably; he must be able to do immoral things if necessary. Indeed, he explains that a ruler cannot have all the praiseworthy qualities: such man has vices that may help him to govern in a good way whereas being virtuous may lead to ruin.

In the chapter 17, Machiavelli wonders if it is better for a Prince to be feared or loved. First, he states that the Prince sometimes has to be cruel (rather than merciful) if we wants to maintain order. Indeed, he explains that if a Prince is too merciful, this can lead to disorder, and crimes may be generated because of this chaos. By this way, the Prince's cruelty is not really a serious matter because by being harsh with a very few, the Prince avoid disorder and killings.

Extraits

[...] The rulers who succeeded the most are the ones who deceived men, rather than those who could be trusted. In fact, Machiavelli puts forward that a Prince must be cunning: he has to act as a fox. The second quality required to govern in Machiavelli's opinion is the strength. Even if the author considers strength is the way of contending animals, he admits it must be necessary to use it when laws are ineffective in order to maintain his power and to be respected. Machiavelli thinks the animal which symbolizes the strength is the lion. [...]

[...] Indeed, in this chapter, as I have already said it, Machiavelli explains that rulers do not have to keep their words: that is one of the core beliefs of Realism. States are not affected by promises as individuals. They make a lot of moral claims and these claims are derivative of their position in international struggles. In reality, all what they want is to be stronger, to expand on a global scale. This realist belief is also influenced by Machiavelli's thought in his famous and controversial book The Prince. References Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, edited by Quentin Skinner and Russell Price, Cambridge University Press, chapters 18. [...]

[...] Then, Machiavelli explains that it is better for the Prince to be feared by citizens. Actually, he says it would be better to be both loved and feared but these two attitudes are incompatible. Hence, he states that it is not a good idea for a Prince to be loved because you cannot trust people and it depends on themselves to love the Prince or not. He says that men can love the Prince and be devoted to him but they can change of attitude as soon as they approach him. [...]

[...] Machiavellian thesis has a fundamental impact on the way to govern in the following centuries. Many people consider he was right to separate moral from politics in order to channel violence and to protect citizens. Others sided against such theory, scandalized by the absolutism of the Prince, and by the idea that it would be better to act immorally to govern well. First, the Church stood against the idea that the end justifies the means as it was written by the cardinal Reginald Pole in 1559 for instance. [...]

[...] In Machiavelli's opinion, a Prince cannot always act honourably; he must be able to do immoral things if necessary. Indeed, he explains that a ruler cannot have all the praiseworthy qualities: such man has vices that may help him to govern in a good way whereas being virtuous may lead to ruin. In the chapter 17, Machiavelli wonders if it is better for a Prince to be feared or loved. First, he states that the Prince sometimes has to be cruel (rather than merciful) if we wants to maintain order. [...]