Machiavelli's The Prince

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.

Securing a state should be the ultimate goal

of the Prince because if the state is not safeguarded it falls apart. The prince’s positions would be in jeopardy for not having the ability to secure or control his state. Machiavelli believed that The Prince should be love and fearing in order to gain control over his state, however look at reality of the people in state it indicates danger. If the Prince is too generous to his people and doesn’t instill fear in people’s heart then he is digging his own grave. People would take advantage of his generosity and would turn against the prince which would result in a great disaster. Every Prince should show generosity or love because you don’t want to lose the general population support or incite hatred which is horrible decision to while serving the prince of the state (Ch.18, p. 59)? However men’s nature is really brutish and evil just like Thomas Hobbes describes is it, and showing too much generosity is paving a path for these sick evil people to destroy the state and weaken the Prince. Men can never be trusted, so therefore it is better for the Prince to be fear than love, because at the end of the day it will assure your safety. When fear is shown and people are severely punished for their crimes it will set an example and people will think twice people they commit political mischief. Machiavelli is not saying that showing fear is the greatest thing but it will assure safety and protection. Just like Cesar who showed fear and punished people severely which resulted successfully in safeguarding the state (Ch.18, p. 58-61)? The Prince must be fearful and should destroy his enemies before they destroy him. He should kill those people who are going to bring chaos and destruction in the state. When the prince rules by fear it will assure him safety, he would have control over the state and people will obey him
In order for the Prince to gain control over the people and the state, he should built his foundation on fear, which includes having rules and regulation for people to follow and having a strong military system.

The first thing prescribed for the new prince or the prince who is in power is built his foundation on fear, this is the best advice offered by Machiavelli to the prince. Judging from the above examples whoever built his foundation on fear has succeeded at the end by protecting himself and safeguarding the city. When laws are implemented it will have control over the people in the society, because if anyone breaks the law they will be severely punished which send a message to other the general population by discouraging them from breaking the law. Strict laws should instill strong fear in people’s hearts which would prevent them from breaking any law (Ch.5, p. 17-19). Second thing that the Prince needs is a strong army, when the Prince has a strong army he is capable of achieving anything whether that is securing a state, fighting his enemies or concurring other nations (Ch.13, p. 43). The prince needs to subscribe to strong military strategies which would help him to achieve his goals and instilling fear in people’s heart and mind. The Prince needs to build his own army which would be a powerful army that will help him

succeed.
Machiavelli third argument is about Principality and the new prince. Machiavelli states that “A ruler who wishes to maintain power must be prepared to act immorally when this becomes necessary” Ch. 15, p. 55. He should destroy all of his enemies before they destroy him. Machiavelli strongly criticizes Cesar for saying that for that the new prince should be virtuous by showing love and being generous to his people. When love is shown to the people, they will stand together with the prince (De Officiis 2.23). Machiavelli uses other examples against him to show that when other princes has shown love and were not fearful, they were destroyed by their enemies. For example when Lorenzo came into power, his enemies tried to threaten and hurt him. Machiavelli states that being virtuous is hard to achieve coming into the new principality especially when there is danger involved. The new prince should not care about what others think, but this new ruler should be like a lion and should act like a beast in order to protect himself. Ch. 18, p. 61:
In conclusion looking at the argument that Machiavelli makes that it’s better to fear than loved is very harsh but it makes sense because the end it guarantees protection of the state. However my suggestion is that if the prince comes to his new principality and his regain begins it better for him to be fearful and loved at the same but I strong agree with Machiavelli that the prince should be fearing instead of showing generosity which is not the best decision for having control over the state or for his own safety.