Fear is a major theme in Nicolo Machiavelli’s book, The Prince. One of Machiavelli's famous quote in his book is that, “It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both” (Machiavelli, pg.79). Machiavelli is saying that fear is a useful tool for rulers to rule over their people. Machiavelli thinks fear can not be used for the ruler’s own sake but for the people. A similar example is like the executive privilege power that the president of the United States have but not use because it would be political suicide. The executive privilege allows the president not to release information to Congress if it’s in the nation’s best interest not his (president) own. Dictators in the past could have misinterpret the quote (stated above) in Machiavelli’s book, The Prince to rule their people according their (dictators) own …show more content…
interest. Another example when fear was used was when Machiavelli said: “Another advantage is that the new territory won't be plundered by your officials.
Its subjects will be happy that they can appeal to a ruler who is living among them. So, if they're intending to be obedient, they'll have one more reason to love you, and if they're not, all the more reason to fear you” (Machiavelli, pg.6).
Machiavelli suggest that in order to successfully do something when one must do it on their own. Today in politics, the president of the United States dominates the foreign policy even though the Constitution of the United States says in a vague interpretation that all branches of the United States government have some part in the foreign policy making.
Machiavelli advise rulers not to do anything that could result in hatred. Here Machiavelli says:
“All the same, while a ruler can't expect to inspire love when making himself feared, he must avoid arousing hatred. Actually, being feared is perfectly compatible with not being hated. And a ruler won't be hated if he keeps his hands off his subjects' property and their women” (Machiavelli,
pg.81). Machiavelli says too much fear can lead too hate. An example of hate in this case can be taking away people’s properties. Just like how Machiavelli is advising rulers not to do anything to hasty, the president of the United States has his own advisors that advise him not to do anything too drastic that could cause the American people to hate him. Their is a particular reason why on Machiavelli says, “It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both” (Machiavelli, pg.79). Machiavelli states why love does not work: “Love binds when someone recognizes he should be grateful to you, but, since men are a sad lot, gratitude is forgotten the moment it's inconvenient. Fear means fear of punishment, and that's something people never forget” (Machiavelli, pg.80). Fear is what will be remembered according to Machiavelli. The theme, fear can be found in Machiavelli’s book, The Prince. The quotes show that fear is useful if used in the right way. Also, fear can be used to gain public support. In my opinion I believe that fear can be used only in certain times. An example would be times of war. I would not prefer fear because it could lead to hate. It could lead to revolution or coup.
Machiavelli’s advice to a prince who wanted to hold power is that they have to instill fear into the people. He believes fear is important because it restrains men, as they fear being punished. Love will never help you hold power because it attaches people to promises. Machiavelli believes that since humans are wicked, they will break these promises whenever their interests is at stake. Men will devote everything to you if you serve their interests, but as soon as you need help, they turn on you. Therefore, creating fear in them is the perfect strategy. I feel like Machiavelli is being sarcastic and did this to get attention. He knew his way of thinking was different and would get the attention of the people.
Machiavelli believes that a government should be very structured, controlled, and powerful. He makes it known that the only priorities of a prince are war, the institutions, and discipline. His writings describes how it is more important for a prince to be practical than moral. This is shown where he writes, "in order to maintain the state he is often obliged to act against his promise, against charity, against humanity, and against religion" (47). In addition, Machiavelli argues that a prince may have to be cunning and deceitful in order to maintain political power. He takes the stance that it is better for the prince to be feared than loved. His view of how a government should run and his unethical conduct are both early signs of dictatorship.
relation of the ruler to his vassals, it is just as important to take into account
Many would agree and say that Machiavelli's ideas can definetly be used in todays society. Especially with the leaders we have today such as presidents , mayors , government etc., as well as the allies and its allies. American has one of the best army so if other countries are in trouble and we are their "allies" , they can benefit off that and ask for help from a good army system. So this goes to show that you cant trust even your friends because you dont know if they are just with you to eat off your success and power. This would apply with a leader trying to gain power and maintain it because a person who is trying to maintain power shouldnt have someone who will bring Another way in how Machiavelli's ideas can take part in todays world is when dealing with politics.
Fear and love cannot be present at the same time; one must be more than the other. Even when a prince wishes to be merciful, the fear must overpower to insinuate the control over the people the
Compassion, like generosity is also admired. But a ruler must be careful that he does not show compassion unwisely. A new ruler has to be cruel initially, because being a new ruler is full of d...
Machiavelli once said ‘Because men are wretched creatures who would not keep their word to you, you need not keep your word to them’. Machiavelli is seen in history as one of the most influencing men of all time. Matter a fact, “the name Machiavelli was a synonym for the devil” (Barnett page 6). Machiavelli established a lot of this reputation from his work The Prince, it was written in 1513-1514. But, a lot people thought that he was misunderstood considering he wrote many books and people focus mostly on one. Second you must take the time period into thought and realize how the world was about 500 years ago.
The quote, derived from Machiavelli’s thoughts; “it is better to be feared than loved,” is supported by Beowulf in Beowulf and by Hrothgar in Grendel through their actions. Leaders have many choices to make; one of the most important choices is to decide if he prefers to be loved or feared by his followers. The main purpose of being a leader is to lead your followers into victory, rule your subjects and have a prosperous kingdom. So the question appears; is it better to be loved or feared.
Although, Machiavelli argues that an ideal ruler must be cruel, feared and unjust in order to maintain power in his paper, "The Prince", this is not necessary true. An ideal ruler must be assertive, just and filled with integrity to maintain power, prestige, and the loyalty of those he governs.
...ver, according to Machiavelli, these short-comings are justified since they preserve the state’s overall goal. In addition, if administrators at both local and national levels act in accordance with the state, this preserves the functionality of society as a whole. Not acting in accordance with the will of the state causes turmoil to erupt and a chink within the everyday businesses of life. Thus, it is consideration of these points that Machiavelli’s philosophy would purport that the tyrannical grip of the state ought to reign supreme in contemporary society.
Being a successful leader also means being able to anticipate trouble even when everything seems fine, and this forethought is what so many fail to consider. Using Italian rulers as an example of why Italian princes have lost their estates, Machiavelli writes, “ Their own indolence was to blame because having never imagined when times were quiet they they could change (and this is a common failing of mankind, never to anticipate a storm when the sea is calm), when adversity came their first thoughts were of flight and not of resistance. (page 78). A successful prince needs to be skilled in the art of war, but Machiavelli would agree that this skill is very useful for affairs aside international ones, such as domestic affairs. At one point or another a leader is faced with an arduous decision that involves hurting a part of the population. Machiavelli realizes that there is no realistic way of governing a group of people and keeping them all content at the same time, therefore a prince must systematically make tough decisions, keeping the majority content as the minority can not overthrow once you've taken everything they have. It may seem immoral to hurt the minority simply because they can not rebel, however, it makes far much more sense than causing hurt upon the majority, as that would make a prince contemptible, therefore staggering his political
Machiavelli wrote The Prince in which he states “it is better for a new political ruler to be feared than loved”. Machiavelli stated that rulers should be loved and feared but at the end to remain safe it’s better to be feared than love. Being virtuous plays a major role in securing a state and gaining the support of the citizens but virtue or love doesn’t guarantee the safety of the ruler and or state. Therefore this essay will argue It is better for a new political leader to feared than loved, which would allow the leader to have the state secure or under control, also instilling fear in people would make them obey the rules and regulation and would allow The Prince to be safe and protected.
When a political leader is considering whether it is better and more conducive to success for a political leader to be loved or feared, Machiavelli states that it is best to be both loved and feared. Yet if the possession of both of these qualities proves to be impossible for the leader to obtain, as is usually the case, then it is better for them to be feared than loved, but not in such a way that provokes the hatred of their citizens. Machiavelli is of this opinion because he sees humans as generally being disloyal, unappreciative, deceitful, libellous, cowardly, and greedy. If a leader is loved but not feared, then the citizens will only remain loyal to the leader while they placate their citizens, but when the leader requires their citizens to repay the generosity which they have given to the citizens, they will rebel against said leader, rendering the leader politically dead. For, according to Machiavelli, friendships and alliances which are acquired with strings attached to them, and are not forged on an honest or worthful base, will be of no use to the leader when he needs them most.
...expected to abide by all of the rules and regulations when being inaugurated to the throne. Even if the monarchs of Europe no longer exert actual control of their respective countries, the people respect, adore and look up to their Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses.
While “every sensible prince wishes to be considered, merciful and not cruel”(pg. 35), one should learn to be merciful in moderation. Not doing so can lead to unintended effects where if you are too “good” it can lead to being taken advantage of, or to “uprisings and civil war” because then you will be looked at as a pushover by your citizens and other neighboring countries. Therefore if you were to be cruel, people will fear you enough to, in theory, not go against you and stay united. But I think this concept seems more like a dictatorship, which thrives on citizens fear, and I don’t think it should be instilled in our government considering that most dictatorships end poorly and lead to more uprisings and civil war than with a merciful leader. And this is why the question in this section on whether it is better to be feared or loved also comes up. Machiavelli believes that a prince should find a balance of being both feared and loved and in general just try to escape hatred. If you are loved by your people, rarely will they betray you, but it is also good to be feared by other nations so that you are not looked upon as a target. So in this section of the prince I think the concept of ruling only on fear should not be used, however I do think that a leader should try balance being loved and