Machiavelli Case

Machiavelli is one of the most renowned Renaissance philosophers and politicians in Italy. He had several publications; the second and most important of which is The Prince, written in 1512 and published few decades later. At the time when Machiavelli wrote The Prince, Italian politics were known for their extreme corruption and violence. It was an era that witnessed very fast and extreme changes. Machiavelli's The Prince is considered a guide to rulers on how to be successful, effective, and powerful and how to make use of citizens' strengths and weaknesses. It goes in depth into the human nature and how this nature affects politics and the way rulers should act and decide ("Niccolò Machiavelli").

The Prince reflects a very coherent and strong explanation of how a human nature looks like as the author sees it. It is significantly different from the works of other politicians at the time because the author had added the element of practicality to his words as he evolved his advice about human's nature rather than morals. This was not particularly the case with other publications of other politicians and philosophers who merely "treated politics as an extension of morals, and whose theories had little practical use" ("Niccolo Machiavelli &The Prince"). As Machiavelli clearly puts it, "there is such a gap between how one lives and how one should live that he who neglects what is being done for what should be done will learn his destruction rather than his preservation" (Harrison 2011).

One of the interesting questions that arose from Machiavelli's book and was subject to debate is whether the human nature is naturally evil. Throughout Machiavelli's book, he tends to lean towards the fact that human nature is evil and based on his assertions; he gives advice to the prince in order to understand this human nature and act upon it.

Machiavelli was born in 1469 during a period known for its disturbed politics and religion and much cultural change to a well-established, wealthy and prominent family in Florence, As Celli (2001) describes it, this period enjoyed "tensions between competing political, cultural and religious ideologies of Christian fundamentalism, classical Epicureanism and republicanism versus monarchic absolutism". This was one of the major factors influencing Machiavelli's character and thoughts for years to come. Having received good-quality education, Machiavelli easily led a political career. He progressed in his work and became a diplomat where he met with a lot of influential figures including Louis XII, Ferdinand II and Pope Julius II. Machiavelli was particularly influenced by the infamous Cesare Borgia, who was Pope Alexander's VI son and at the same time a ruthless and corrupt politician. Machiavelli considered him a great leader who had the capability to unite Italy and often referred to his deeds in his second book, The Prince("The Prince"; Machiavelli 1512).

The Prince was dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici; primarily because Machiavelli had a lot of faith in the Medici family and believed that they were capable of uniting Italy and secondly, he wished to work again in Politics and was hoping to gain Lorenzo De Medici's favor.

Machiavelli's views of human beings and of how to run a state were very different from his contemporaries and this is where his uniqueness comes in. His views on human nature explain his advice to state rulers. Machiavelli highlights the extremes of human nature and behavior. He is very skeptical towards ethics, morals and religion. He tries to detach morality from politics. He speaks of different human traits that change according to the situation one is going through (Celli 2001, 9; Sennholz).

Machiavelli's thoughts are a direct outcome of his experience in politics. As explained earlier, there was a lot of political and religious turmoil at the time. Machiavelli witnessed the birth and fall of many rulers and leaders. His book is a summary of his experiences and his insights on what made a strong and successful leader irrespective of morality and the nature of relationship between a ruler and his subordinates . It is important to realize that the Italian politics and divisions were always at the back of Machiavelli's head while writing the book.

Machiavelli tends to believe that men are naturally evil and therefore, in order for a prince to rule them, he has to be cruel. He asserts that men have to either be pampered or crushed by their respective governments. Germany is an interesting case to review. Post World War I (WWI), Germany was not allowed to have an army of its own. Even worse, dark-skinned soldiers were forcibly employed in a country that does not have racial tolerance. Such actions were neither considered pampering nor crushing. This mediocre solution eventually led Hitler to lead the people into a darker tunnel that led to a Second World War. According to Machiavelli's doctrines, Germany would have been better off if it was completely destroyed or completely left on its own.

Machiavelli's trust in human beings was minimal. He questioned their reliability. He tended to distrust citizens more than trust them. According to him, the state cannot rely on its people when it needed them. He stated that "for such a prince cannot rely upon what he observes in quiet times, when citizens have need of the state, because then everyone agrees with him; they all promise, and when death is far distant they all wish to die for him; but in troubled times, when the state has need of its citizens, then he finds but few" (Machiavelli 1512 Chapter IX).

Not only does he distrust men, he also questions their loyalty and urges the prince to disarm his people for fear that they would turn against him.Machiavelli believes that men are ready to die only when they least expect it therefore, a prince should purchase the loyalty of his men by making them dependent on him (Machiavelli 1512, Chapter IX). He also advices the prince to abstain from the property of other for men might forget the death of their own fathers but won't forget the loss of their land (Celia 2001, 46; Machiavelli 1512, Chapter XVII). Machiavelli's statement reflects his view that men are selfish creatures who care about property rather than human beings. Interestingly, Machiavelli's advice to the prince was not intended for the prince to be moral and not take a property that is not his; but rather to watch out for revenge if he did that because men are selfish. This notion of selfishness forces itself in every aspect of human behavior for Machiavelli believes that men are only happy and trustworthy when the situation they are in is positive and encouraging but they can turn to the complete opposite if anything changed. They are capable of dishonesty