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Machiavelli The Prince Chapter 17 Summary

764 Words4 Pages

In his world renowned book The Prince, Machiavelli expresses what he thinks is the best way to rule a nation. In many ways, his policies reflect his cynical view of humanity. At multiple points throughout his writing, he criticizes human beings for their selfish, judgmental, and impatient nature. In chapter 17 he states that men are “ungrateful, changeable, simulators and dissimulators, runaways in danger, eager for gain.” Machiavelli also notes that men are very likely to turn against those they love for personal profit. Though I agree that human beings are selfish creatures and act primarily for themselves, most people are still bound by a set of morals that draw a line between good behavior and bad. I think the power of love and respect has a greater ability to keep people in line than Machiavelli thinks. There are many figures in the world today who are inclined to use fear …show more content…

However, if he were to only be one of these, it would be best to be feared. Again, Machiavelli bases his opinion on his disbelief in the integrity of human beings. In chapter 17, he states, “For love is held by a chain of duty which, since men are bad, they break at every chance of their own profit; but fear is held by a dread of punishment that never fails you.” This is another case in which Machiavelli’s point of view may work for his time, but not today’s. In Machiavelli’s day, a ruler had sole authority over his country, and obedience was expected from every one of his subjects. People could not speak up or challenge what the Prince had to say. However, in today’s society approval from the people is much more important for a leader. Word gets around fast through innovations in communication, and dissatisfied people are more able to organize and rise up against leaders. For this reason, leaders should be more concerned with being loved by their people than being

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The main point made by Machiavelli was that men are inherently bad, so a leader must rule in a way that takes this into account. He taught that because of man’s ungratefulness, it is safer to be feared than loved (D-4). This shows that Machiavelli believed that the power and success of a country will lead to the prosperity of its inhabitants. Both influential people believed that a country prospers the most under absolute power.

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Then for Machiavelli he talks about how a prince should show no fear instead for him to show that he is the one with power. That a prince's people should fear him. Both authors go on to talk on how their people react based on the prince and princesse act. The authors then go on to explain how they should view and run their people. Both authors also reflect the fact that the way their people are going to act towards them is mainly based off of how they treat them.

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Machiavelli expressed that it is good to be loved, but when it comes down to controversial decisions, fear is vital among members of a country. Machiavelli also believed that if citizens of a country feared a leader, they would always be forced to stay loyal. He believed in a totalitarian government. Machiavelli wanted a harsh government with unlimited power and unfair citizen standards. Fear of individuals seen as essential is very similar to slaveholders' views. "

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Machiavelli argues the perfect prince will be both feared and loved by his people, and if unable to be both he will make himself feared and not hated. Machiavelli believes it is much safer to be feared than to be loved because people are less likely to offend and stand up against strong characters, also people are less concerned in offending a prince who has made himself loved. Accordingly, Machiavelli believes generosity is harmful to your reputation and the choice between being generous or stingy, merciful or cruel, honest or deceitful, should only be important if it aids the prince in political power. All in all, Machiavelli believes the ruler must be a great deceiver and do what is essential to uphold power over the

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1 903134j Western International High School Topic 1 The Prince 1.20.15 Although many have argued their beliefs as to why Machiavelli wrote The Prince, I believe that his intent was to show the common man the mindset that rulers have when they are operating. The common mistake others have made throughout the past is not realizing that what Machiavelli wrote and taught was for the greater good. Machiavelli did not want to tell those who ruled over kingdoms how to rule, but rather show how his beliefs could better the kingdom for everyone within.

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However, if people fear, you are only dealing with one factor in governing. Moreover, it has a limited one. Fear is a natural response to danger. As a leader, if you want people to make a change, make a difference, you need their love. On the other hand, Machiavelli believes that the necessity for a successful leader is to take control and that it is necessary to maintain power, at any cost.

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One essential quality that a prince must develop due to the unfavorable qualities of men is the ability to be feared rather than loved as this quality is most beneficial for the power of the prince. Machiavelli states, “Since it is difficult to be both together, it is much safer to be feared than to be loved, when one of two must be lacking. For one can generally say this about men: they are ungrateful, fickle, simulators and deceivers, avoiders of danger, and greedy for gain” (58). Because men are generally selfish in nature and their actions are based on their own personal gains, it is risky for a prince to be loved by his citizens since it may potentially have negative consequences, especially because “men are less hesitant about injuring someone who makes themselves loved than one who makes himself feared” (58). Machiavelli demonstrates how due to the deceivious nature of men, it is essential for a prince to be feared by his citizens are men are less likely to be compelled to engage in mischievous behavior towards a leader whom they fear.

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Although I do believe that Machiavelli's statements are true, I do not necessarily support them or the type of ruler they aim to create. Machiavelli's ideas aimed for realism rather than idealism; the goal was to give advice to leaders that would be relevant and take into account the ability of people to make both morally good and bad decisions. Though it is undeniable that some people will try to take advantage of others if given the chance, Machiavelli's ideas were made to succeed in a world where there is always someone present who is willing to undermine those who act virtuously. In my opinion, these statements assume that people are always at their worst, and thus should not be trusted. When it comes to maintaining control over

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The best place to begin for this where he answered the question which is better to be loved or feared Love or Fear Which is to be better loved or feared? This question is an important one and Machiavelli answer for it is great. “One ought to be both feared and loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved” (Machiavelli 61). This leads to one of his core beliefs which is that, he believes humans are awful creatures and will seek out

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The term, “Machiavellian” has been coined by scholars to describe individuals that are cunning and unscrupulous in their methods to gain political power. In 1513, Machiavelli wrote the controversial novel, The Prince that supported the separation of politics from the morality advocated for leaders to have by the Catholic Church. Machiavelli wrote the novel while Italy was in political turmoil during sixteenth century as a guideline for princes in how to gain, rule, and keep states. Machiavelli’s writing still manages to be relevant in modern times through the advice he presents to a prince in how to confront challenges.

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Power Is Not Evil In Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

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Machiavelli’s advice is there for the people who hold power and exposes the truth in human nature. However, although Machiavelli opens up the honesty of humanity; he teaches that there are a lot of people who are not good, so one must also learn to not be good. The thing that is wrong with this is that evil does not combat with evil. Evil can not conquer evil, good conquers. Therefore, The Prince explores the reality of human nature as self-interested and wicked.

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Machiavelli states rulers should gain and maintain power by whatever means possible, even brutality and manipulation. Machiavelli also believed that commoners were only loyal to their leaders when their needs were met. He thought manipulation should be used to convince the commoners that their needs and interest were met. Overall, Machiavelli viewed the commoners as an essential source of power for leaders, felt they were somewhat challenging to control, and must be carefully governed to gain stability in the state and avoid insurrection (Machiavelli, 1532/2003).

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In the book, Machiavelli believes in the idea of having a strong dominant leader, in order to preserve the benefits to the citizens as a group instead of individually. This strategy clearly shows in chapter seventeen where Machiavelli points out that every prince would prefer to be loved than to be feared. However, the two rarely co-existed. If one had to choose, it is not only better to be feared than to be loved but it is also much “safer” looking at it realistically. By safer, it means that you will not have to worry and watch out as much since people will be less likely to conspire against someone they fear than someone they love.

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In Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, he maintains a harsh perspective on reality. His advice on how to maintain power leaves no room for compassion or generousity. While some may believe that these are qualities of a good person, Machiavelli believes these qualities lead to the downfall of rulers. He acknowledges that, in reality, it is impossible for someone to have qualities of a good person and simultaneously a good ruler. Machiavelli’s realistic outlook causes him to emphasize that it is better to maintain power through fear, rather than compassion.

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Both of these highly influential authors had different opinions on ruling that would shape how people would rule during their time and for rulers to come. One of Machiavelli’s major points in The Prince was that it was better to be feared than to be loved. He said this was because while both ways can be useful tools to help one rule, men are less likely to turn a ruler if they were afraid of punishment. Machiavelli had little faith in the common man and had this to say about them, “They are ungrateful, fickle, deceptive and deceiving, avoiders of dangers, eager to gain”(pg.353).

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