Political ThinkingPOL 161

Erik RankinMachiavelli 54-71

Machiavelli – Book XIII• Auxiliary troops- troops that are borrowed from an

army more powerful than the Prince’s• These are as useless as mercenaries, why?

– What if the auxiliaries lose a battle?– What if they win?

• Where does their loyalty lie?• So which do think are more dangerous, mercenaries

or auxiliaries? (think Agathocles!)• The prince must use his OWN troops, if he ever wants

to be secure• By using auxiliary forces, does this rely on prowess or

fortune?• Using auxiliaries is only good in prosperous times, not

in times of danger, they become a reliance on fortune

Machiavelli – Book XIV

• Read the 1st sentence in Book XIV, this is a good quote to remember!

• How do you think Machiavelli feels about the importance of war?

• Mastering war can even allow a common citizen to become Prince

• Easiest way to lose a state is to focus on something else (like luxury)

• What analogy did Machiavelli use in this chapter?

Machiavelli – Book XIV• Not logical for an armed man to obey an unarmed

man• Not logical for the unarmed man to feel safe if those in

his employ are armed• The unarmed should always be suspicious of the

armed man, the armed man will feel open disrespect for the unarmed man

• What does this do in terms of cooperation?• A prince must understand warfare in order to lead his

armies– Not just understand but study (all the time)– He must know geography, history, hunting– Prepare in peace for war

Machiavelli – Book XV• Begins discussion on Prince behavior• Machiavelli argues that others have talked

about this but his will be practical, not theoretical– Many have spoken how men should live,

Machiavelli will discuss how me do live– Who is he taking shots at here?

• For Machiavelli, truth and imagined ideals are often far apart

• A prince should not focus on living virtuously, rather acting to achieve the most practical benefit

Machiavelli – Book XV• Certain personal traits will earn men praise

– Faith, courage, compassion, generosity, craftiness

• Certain personal traits will earn men condemnation– Cruelty, cowardice, stubbornness, miserliness

• A prince should have all qualities that men deem “good”, but this is unlikely

• #1 for the Prince is to protect the state and sometimes that means doing “bad”

• “Bad” things done for the good of the state are acceptable even if others dislike the idea

Machiavelli – Book XVI• OK, funky word niggardliness – the better word is

Parsimony- both words mean to be stingy with money – nothing to do with race!

• Liberality is a funky word as well, it means being loose with one’s money

• Liberality has nothing to do with being liberal which would indicate freedom

• This is an easy way to get confused with Machiavelli• If a prince tries to be free with his money – he will

have to overtax those same people to make money back

• More taxes means a hated prince• Quote on pg. 88 “And of all things…”

Machiavelli – Book XVI• But if he is parsimonious or stingy – he will end up

having a reputation for liberality– He will not have to take anything from most who are not rich

and “infinite in number”

• This will have the vast majority of people on the prince’s side, this is a theme throughout the book– He will only have to take from the few “those to whom he

does not give– Even if alienating the rich, you will have the multitude on

your side

• The few cannot hurt the prince if the many are on his side

• Best thing to do is leave the many alone

Machiavelli – Book XVII• Compassion is an admired trait in all leaders

• But compassion can also be dangerous– If disloyal subjects are not punished, there will be

disorder– Disorder causes crime and crime hurts the people– Executions only harm the individual that committed

the crime

• Some cruelty is necessary to maintain order– This is not absolute, this must be dealt with in a

very delicate manner, cruelty can be tempered

• Machiavelli asks whether a prince should be feared or loved? What do you think?

Machiavelli – Book XVII• Ideally, the answer is both!• But… it is better to be feared than loved• Machiavelli describes human nature as being

the reason, men are by nature– “ungrateful, greedy, fickle, dissembling, anxious to

flee danger, and covetous of gain”– In time s of real danger a man will turn on a prince if

it is to his benefit

• The bond of love is easily broken, but fear is always effective

• But using fear must be done carefully, the prince must avoid becoming hated

Machiavelli – Book XVII• Executions must be justified

• Prince should never take property, or women of subjects because that may instill hatred

• If property is taken the reason must be understandable to all

• However, when it comes to the treatment of armies, no such thing as too much cruelty– To keep discipline and unity requires cruelty– Even inhuman cruelty (Goooo!)

Machiavelli – Book XVIII• Princes that keep their promises are praised by

others• Princes however are most successful when

they are able to trick other, use cunning and deceit

• 2 ways of fighting– By laws– By force

• Laws are natural to men & force is natural to beasts

• If success is desires a Prince must learn to fight with laws and force (Half man, half beast)

Machiavelli – Book XVIII• Discussion of force and the two types of beasts

– Lions & Foxes

• A fox is defenseless against wolves, and a lion defenseless against traps

• A prince must learn to act like both, a fox to avoid traps and a lion to frighten the wolves

• Applied to people: a prince must be willing to break promises when they no longer serve his interest – Prince should not rely on promises

• Men by nature are wretched and deceitful

• Prince must master trickery

Machiavelli – Book XVIII• Even if the prince is tricky, he must appear

virtuous– Example of Pope Alexander VI

• Virtues of compassion, trustworthiness, kindness, etc… are not able to be attained as a whole, but appearance is key!

• If the people feel the prince is not virtuous he will be in danger of losing his state

• Men judge on appearance and results– This makes evil acceptable as long as these are

taken care of– Success = Appearance of Virtue