A Very Short Note on
Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince

 

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) wrote The Prince (c.1514), a handbook for rulers. It lays out a notoriously amoral set of principles about how to gain political power and keep it. Machiavelli is generally considered the Philosopher of realpolitik, i.e., the philosophy that says successful politicians should follow the path of expediency rather than acting from ethical principles.

On the general question as to whether a ruler should do good or evil, Machiavelli holds that a ruler should be willing to do either good or evil, depending on which would serve best in a given situation to protect and enhance his power.

Hence it is necessary for a prince wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity. (The Prince, chapter xv, “Concerning Things For Which Men, And Especially Princes, Are Praised Or Blamed”)

And again, on the general question as to whether a ruler should have good qualities and be virtuous or should just appear to be good and virtuous, Machiavelli comes down squarely on the side of only appearing virtuous.

Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always to observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and to be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite. (The Prince, chapter xviii, “Concerning The Way In Which Princes Should Keep Faith,” my emphasis)

If we were to hypothetically ask Machiavelli whether he thinks a ruler should respect human rights or not, he might well answer in a similar vein, that a ruler should appear to respect them, but should be willing to either respect human rights or not respect them, depending on which would serve best in a given situation to protect and enhance his power.

Or if we were to hypothetically ask Machiavelli whether he thinks a ruler should protect the environment, he might well offer a similar answer, i.e., that a ruler should appear to protect it, but should be willing to either protect the environment or harm the environment, depending on which would best serve in a given situation to protect and enhance his power.