Throughout The Prince and The Discourses of Livy, Niccolo Machiavelli demonstrates multiple theories and advocacies as to why popular rule is important to the success of a state. Popular rule is a term that will be used to define an indirect way to govern the people of a state. In order to rule the masses, a leader must please the people or revolts will occur, causing mayhem and a lack of stability in one’s state. During both written works, Machiavelli stresses the importance of obedience and order needed for a state, and especially for a leader to be successful. Machiavelli thoroughly states that anything and everything must be done to keep the peace of the masses, even if acts of immorality are used. However, instead of advocating immorality, Machiavelli is saying that to serve the people and the state well, a ruler must not restrict himself to conventional standards of morality. His use of immoral tactics in leadership would appear to be unpopular; however the acts of immorality have limitations and are done solely to avoid displeasing the masses or creating disorder. Therefore it is acceptable to practice immorality if it is done only to a small number of constituents, if it is not repeated, and if it is performed to please and benefit the public. It is these limitations that prove Machiavelli is arguing that the use of immoral tactics, to rule the people and in turn be ruled by the people, is needed. He suggests that if the majority of the population is unhappy with a leader, that particular leader’s rule would be in jeopardy, thus falling victim to popular rule.
The first justification for the use of immorality is that it is only practiced upon a small number of residents. Machiavelli summarizes that it is better for a ruler to be immoral to a few of his subjects and prevent disorder from spreading because disorder will damage the community as a whole more than it will damage a few individuals in isolated acts of immorality. The priority of the leader is to maintain order and act to prevent disorder because, “the whole community suffers if there are riots, while to maintain order the ruler only has to execute one or two individuals� (51). Citizens of a community would much rather live in a peaceful and orderly world which exemplifies how a ruler is actually a slave to the people. It...
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...rder, brought unity and made the state as a whole law abiding and peaceful.
Overall Machiavelli’s perspective does seem harsh and cold at times, but he proves to be an avid supporter of popular rule throughout his writings. He believes in popular rule so strongly that he states it is acceptable to use immoral means to achieve a peaceful government. If the citizens are not happy and feel their ruler disregards their wishes then the populace could become enraged and therefore, the ruler would not be executing his power of indirect popular rule. Machiavelli states that in order to achieve the necessity of popular rule, a leader will have to step outside a moral sphere and do whatever it takes to achieve popular rule. Machiavelli puts clear and strict limits on acts of immorality in leadership. The use of immorality is only acceptable in order to achieve overall good for a government. Engaging in immorality for the sake of popular rule is justified because it is done to serve the people and the state successfully.
Works Cited
Machiavelli. Selected Political Writings. Trans: David Wooton. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1994.
Niccolò Machiavelli was a man who lived during the fourteen and fifteen hundreds in Florence, Italy, and spent part of his life imprisoned after the Medici princes returned to power. He believed that he should express his feelings on how a prince should be through writing and became the author of “The Qualities of a Prince.” In his essay, he discusses many points on how a prince should act based on military matters, reputation, giving back to the people, punishment, and keeping promises. When writing his essay, he follows his points with examples to back up his beliefs. In summary, Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of a Prince,” provides us with what actions and behaviors that a prince should have in order to maintain power and respect.
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Machiavelli in his famous book “The Prince” describes the necessary characteristics for a strong and successful leader. He believes that one of the most important characteristics is to rule in favor of his government and to hold power in his hands. Power is an essential aspect of Machiavelli’s theory, and a leader should do whatever it takes to keep it for the safety of his country because “the ends justifies the means.” To attain and preserve the power, a leader should rather be feared than loved by his people, but it is vital not to be hated. As he states, “anyone compelled to choose will find far greater security in being feared than in being loved.” If a leader is feared, the people are less likely to revolt, and in the end, only a threat of punishment can guarantee obedienc...
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For an unjust leader equates an unjust law which is "a code that is out of harmony with the moral law"(King 207). When there is any kind of injustice in a system, especially in the centre of it all, the whole system would collapse, the oppressed would seek for justice in one way or another, the loyal supporters would loose faith in the leader, the leader cannot contain the people, and the system would crumble into bits just like the Roman Empire. When situations get bad "so long as a he keeps his subjects united and loyal, a prince ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty" (Machiavelli 180), said Machiavelli, is not an acceptable style either for it simply means that a ruler can do whatsoever-he-seeks-fit. An ideal ruler should be wise enough to know that just because majourity is happy and that there seems to be uniformity in the nations does not mean that all is well; the oppressed could be patient for some time to just maintain order, but that poise is not always maintained-demonstrations are ultimately the end results of such