Compare And Contrast Machiavelli's View Of Human Nature

First of all, Machiavelli’s view of human nature is based on the idea that humans are immoral. When questioning whether it is better to be loved or feared, Machiavelli states, “…if you have to make a choice, to be feared is much safer than to be loved. For it is a good general rule about men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, liars and deceivers, fearful of danger and greedy for gain” (Machiavelli, Prince 46). In Machiavelli’s view, humans are selfish and care more about protecting themselves than defending the state in times of danger. Human love is inconstant and unreliable because it can be broken whenever it is not in the best interest of the people. Fear, however, can be controlled because it “involves dread of punishment, from which they can never escape” (Machiavelli, Prince 46). When humans have something to fear, they will obey, but when

This emphasizes the belief that humans cannot be trusted to be loyal to a king in terms of love alone, and instead fear must be inflicted in order to dominate them. For Machiavelli, because human beings are wicked, they must be manipulated by the prince in order to maintain rule. Concerning the way in which a prince must acquire a new state, Machiavelli declares that “a new prince must always harm those over whom he assumes authority” (Machiavelli, Prince 5). In this statement, Machiavelli introduces the idea that human beings are rebellious in nature and a prince must mistreat them so that they become subject to him. He further goes on to describe ways in which a prince achieves control over his people. These include living in the kingdom, setting up colonies, avoiding making others powerful, and being feared, but not hated. By living in the kingdom and setting