Machiavelli, Niccolò: the Qualities of the Prince

Why do you agree or disagree with Machiavelli when he asserts that the great majority of people are not good? Does our government assume that to be true too?

Machiavelli's entire rhetoric is about how a prince should act to retain his leadership role. The qualities a prince must seemingly possess include, "all mercy, all faithfulness, all integrity, all kindness, all religion" (47). The prince's role is simply to give the people what they want, even through means of deceit.

Machiavelli says, "A man who wishes to make a vocation [career] of being good at all times will come to ruin among so many who are not good," basically meaning if one tries too hard at goodness, one will turn bad. Or another way put, no one can act good all the time. Machiavelli then says, "Hence it is necessary for a prince who wishes to maintain his position to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge or not to use it according to necessity" (40). The prince must appeal to his people by any means. Later, he describes certain instances where the prince can get into jeopardy because he doesn't appeal to the people. Machiavelli described conspiracies and how a conspiracy requires many people. If everyone likes the prince, then no one would want to kill him, as Machiavelli described. Therefore, "A prince must guard himself against being despised and hated" (43).

Likewise with the prince, people simply look out for their best interests. People will lie, cheat and steal just to get what they want. If one desires something, one will do whatever one has to in order to get what one wants. "One can generally say this about men: that they are ungrateful, fickle, simulators and deceivers" (44). The prince is manipulative in the mere fact he will not always speak the truth. He tells the people what they want to hear to please them and keep them happy. The prince's main focus is survival (staying alive and keeping his position of power as is any government).

The government, to some, gets too impersonal. However, overall our government does the best job in protecting its citizens at all costs. The government simply wants to retain peace, but does not necessarily believe everyone is evil. The government understands some individuals may get out of hand and thus results to using police forces, but for the most part, the people work cooperatively.

Machiavelli says the prince should keep the people content by any means necessary to keep his high status. The government does the same thing by simply keeping its people in check. The great majority of people are neither entirely bad or entirely good, but somewhere in the middle.

Work Cited

Machiavelli, Niccolò. "The Qualities of the Prince." A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for CollegeWriters. 6th ed. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Boston: Bedford, 2002. 37-50.