Political Theory - Machiavelli

Machiavelli's The Prince was a publication authored by Niccolo Machiavelli in the fifteenth century. It was a short literary work that discussed how a leader can acquire power, form a statement, and retain the attained political influence. In addition, this was discussed in the publication through a sequence of philosophical steps focused on governing the general public. The publication offered leaders a guideline on how to execute political actions that were centered on lessons of history and Machiavelli's own experiences. That is at a time when he functioned as a public secretary in the City of Florence. Machiavelli believed that politics possessed its own rules where successful leaders had to employ cunning steps to retain their power. The message in Machiavelli's publication attained popularity as it was depicted as a literary tool that was focused on encouraging dictators in society to retain their positions. Machiavellianism became a negative tool that was employed to refer to political maneuvers that were characterized by cunningness, duplicity as well as bad faith by the leaders towards their followers. The Prince provided an outline of how immoral behavior like dishonesty as well as the killing of the innocents was a normal and effective strategy in politics. Although almost similar ideas are incorporated in the publications The Prince and the Discourses on Livy, the two literary works have a major variation in their emphasis because they discuss two different political ideologies.

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Description of Machiavelli's' Principles as a Handful of Tyrants

Machiavelli's The Prince is among the first publication that was authored with the focus of politics and science from an entirely rational and scientific perspective CITATION Nic12 \l 1033 (Machiavelli, 2012). The stated book by Machiavelli was focused on a principality, which is a state where one ruler or a small group of elite offered leadership to a mass of subjects that have no form of active political life. In the book, Machiavelli addressed a monarchial ruler, the Medici, whereby he offered advice that was focused on keeping the stated ruler in power. In the publication, Machiavelli recommended policies that were meant to discourage any form of mass political activism. It also discouraged all energies of the rulers' subjects that could have driven them into private pursuits of political interests. Moreover, in the publication, Machiavelli's aim was to persuade the monarch that it was possible for a leader to preserve his/her power through the use of violence enacted carefully and economically (Spencer, 2012; Zuckert, 2017). That is by respecting the persons, properties as well as traditions of his/her subjects. Moreover, the publication asserts that a prince or a leader should be the sole authority that determines every aspect of a state and all his policies should be focused on yielding the best interest of his subjects.

In addition, such interests entailed gaining, maintaining as well as expanding the leader's political interest. Nonetheless, Machiavelli did not believe that a prince should mistreat his followers. Instead, the prince should learn to cultivate both love and fear from his subjects as a strategy to maintain his leadership. Moreover, the author believed that in the event that a leader fails to evoke love from his citizens, it would be better for him to be feared. In the publication, Machiavelli believed that men are ungrateful, deceivers, and greedy for profit. That is because most men are self-centered and in most cases, they are not willing to act in the best interest of the state. Lastly, in the publication, Machiavelli reinforced the need for a prince to be feared by arguing that it was better for a leader to be feared than loved. That is because the followers of a leader would worry less about injuring a prince who is loved than the one who is feared. Through providing such manifestations, it was evident that Machiavelli was in support of dictatorial leadership in society as he provided a recipe through which tyrants in the society could employ to cling to power.

Arguably, Machiavelli was among the most committed Italian Republican during the era when he was a political leader CITATION Joh162 \l 1033 (Scott, 2016). Nevertheless, his publications, particularly The Prince, made many people in the preceding eras to consider him to have left a horrendous legacy. Additionally, that is because, most people perceived The Prince, to be a handbook that had a totalitarian evil objective, which held the secret of power consolidation. Indeed, to date, the term "Machiavellian" is still considered as a pejorative for deceitful as well as cunning rulers (Bass & Mayers, 2013; Magstadt, 2014). In addition, the publication could be considered as a handful of tyrants because it provided a detailed plethora of strategies and justifications that could be utilized by wannabe tyrants in a society. In a different perspective, the publication could also be considered by others as a toolbox for benevolent autocrats. On most parts of the publication, there is substantial evidence that supports the latter position. Interspersed in different parts of the book, Machiavelli affirmed that if properly executed, the strategies of violence outlined in the book could help a prince to ascend to power. In such cases, instead of the book offering subtle hints, Machiavelli's argument supported the use of violence as articulated explicitly throughout the content.

For instance, Machiavelli describes the violence as a method a leader can take to successfully elevate himself to power in chapter eight of his publication (Machiavelli, 2012). In the stated chapter, Machiavelli argues that a prince's stronghold in his authority can only be secured if he uses enough force to undermine all his opposers or enemies. Nevertheless, the prince should not risk passing a certain threshold of violence to avoid tormenting his subjects. In addition, when such a prince is inflicting pain upon his opponents, he should also do so using a single stroke so as not to repeat such violent acts on a daily basis. Subsequently, this will help the prince to avoid upsetting his followers and instead be able to reassure them and win their loyalty for his benefit. Cumulatively, in all these sections of his publications, it is clear that Machiavelli offered tyrannical leaders a guideline of how to eradicate opposition for their own political gains. Also, in that case, the publication The Prince conforms to its description as a handful of titans.

In the publication The Prince, Machiavelli also, believed that the strategy of using force against rival leaders could be quelled with time. That is as normalcy returns to the tyrants' realm of leadership. Moreover, it would be imperative for a prince to ensure that he does not go beyond the bounds of force because it would put him at risk of alienating his supporters entirely. Nevertheless, the publication believed that injuries were essential components of leadership and they are an essential ingredient in the recipe of taking over authority. In chapter nine of the book, Machiavelli argued that over the course of history, rulers have managed to retain power over their subjects by using deceitful maneuvers and tricking their opponents (Machiavelli, 2012). In this section, Machiavelli offers an example of two animals: the lion and the foxes. In this case, he argues that lions are defenseless to traps and tricks but foxes are defenseless against any attack involving wolves. According to him, a leader should adapt to his surroundings by employing his lion-like ferocity in frightening away the wolves that challenge his livelihood and also adopting the fox-like instincts in avoiding traps. Such a description further illustrates Machiavelli's support for deceitful maneuvers that are popular among tyrants in leadership.

The analogies offered in chapter seven of the publication The Prince by Machiavelli depicted the perception that a ruler should use both tactics (the lion's and fox's maneuvers) to thwart all goals of his adversaries (Machiavelli, 2012). Also, the analogies could be employed by leaders to justify the breaking of promises to their followers in search measures will yield political success. Moreover, in the section, Machiavelli argues that the prince should learn how to beguile the minds of men through cunningness and shrewdness. In addition, Machiavelli stated that a prince should be in all ways become a master of deception to remain successful in his political ambition. Such illustrations further provide a justification as to why Machiavelli's book, The Prince, is referenced as a handful of tyrants. Also, parts of the reason why Machiavelli's principles are described as a handful of tyrants are in their contribution to helping tyrants to retain their leadership position. Machiavelli achieves this by discussing how people who would like to cling to their powerful positions can use oppressive and forceful strategies to enforce loyalty to their followers. In the publication The Prince, Machiavelli communicates about his focus on supporting tyrants through five distinct aspects. The stated aspects include statesmanship and Warcraft, goodwill and hatred, free will, virtue, and human nature.

Goodwill and Hatred

Machiavelli's publication appears to be helping tyrants to remain in power by arguing that a prince should avoid being hated by his people. Moreover, the publication states that it is important for a prince or leader to be loved, but more importantly to be feared. Being hated, however, according to the publication, can lead to the downfall of such a leader. In this case, Machiavelli advocates that the use of cruelty in maintaining leadership positions is important as long as it does not compromise the longtime goodwill of his supporters. In addition, Machiavelli argues that the goodwill of the public is important in fighting domestic resistance and foreign aggression. As such, he discourages leaders from perpetrating actions that could make them be hated such as confiscation of properties as well as the dissolution of public traditional institutions. Moreover, Machiavelli argues that military force should only be employed if it is meant to suppress resistance. However, such use of violence should not be enacted in the long run to avoid developing hatred from the public. Through such arguments in the publication, it is evident that Machiavelli through his publication supports of dictatorial leadership in a state by offering ideas on how dictators can retain their political power.

Freewill

In chapter fourteen of his publication, Machiavelli uses terms such as prowess and fortune to explain how leaders with freewill can retain their strong political positions (Machiavelli, 2012). In this case, prowess refers to the leaders' individual abilities to remain in power while fortune characterizes luck or chance such leaders have in safeguarding their political positions. Machiavelli argues that leaders should use their free will to amerce the loyalty of their subjects by using both civic and hostile measures CITATION Fil15 \l 1033 (Lucchese, Frosini, & Morfino, 2015). That is regardless of the democratic rights of their rivals in fighting for the same leadership position. Through free will, leaders irrespective of their authority design can enforce their role in a state. Through such arguments, it is evident that Machiavelli's publication does not discredit tyrannical leadership but instead implies that even tyrannical leaders can redeem their leadership position through their free will to rule CITATION Bri16 \l 1033 (Bright Summaries, 2016).

Virtue

Machiavelli also in his publication argues that leaders should use both positive and negativ...