Italian political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) is the author of an infamous political theory treatise titled The Prince.
Machiavelli worked in high positions for the Florentine Republic, in an era when Italian politics was filled with violence and corruption. In 1512, after a power change put him out of favor with the new government, he moved to a small town and began political advisory writing. A year later he finished writing The Prince, a straightforward practical guide on how to be a powerful and successful ruler.
Though The Prince contains advice specifically intended for a monarch, the book is also valued for its generally applicable information on topics such as leadership, human nature and behavior, sociology, psychology, and philosophy. It has been and continues to be widely read and influential.
Central to the book is Machiavelli’s somewhat disturbing view of human nature that portrays the vast majority of people as primarily self-interested (particularly in regards to their property and honor), seldom trustworthy or grateful without an incentive for being so, un-investigative and herd-minded, inconstant, and able to have their loyalty swayed. Machiavelli advises a ruler to base his policy on most people being this way, and thus, to base his government mainly on severity.
Another theme central to The Prince is Machiavelli’s recommendation to study and emulate great people, and to combine human-like and animal-like characteristics—and in the case of the latter, properly combining a lion’s strength and ferocity and a fox’s cunning and understanding.
In further outlining his a model of the ideal ruler, Machiavelli points out his belief in the effectiveness of being feared but not hated by the people—the surest way to inspire the people’s reliable loyalty.
With this end in mind, Machiavelli advises rulers to use sound laws and have a strong military, respect people’s traditions, promote their material prosperity, and never meddle with their personal property or women.
He also points out the need to take meticulous care in appearing to be strong, decisive, beneficent yet fiscally responsible, merciful, loyal, moral, humane, and religious; while in reality being and doing whatever contributes to achieving your ends.
Machiavelli also considers a ruler’s selection and management of ministers and servants as in many ways being what can make or break his government’s success. According to Machiavelli, a ruler should only employ people who will be dependent on and look out for and the interests of the state and the ruler, and should carefully study and encourage these people. And, in taking advice from others, he should be a constant inquirer, but use only a small and trusted group of advisors, and only on matters he asks them about.
In addition to his specific advice on how to optimally rule a state, Machiavelli also includes his insight on what generally causes success or failure in matters. While most writers at the time considered everything the result of divinely ordained fate, Machiavelli offered a much differing view, and believed that outcomes are controlled by two factors: what is in one’s control, and what lies outside of it. He also added that, while each of these factors carries about the same significance, it is up to a person to use what is in his control, exercise foresight, deal with possibilities, maximize success, and, in doing so, adapt behavior to suit the times and unique circumstances.
Since its publication in the 1500s, The Prince has established its place among the most notable written works in world history. Many of the book’s controversial recommendations have also caused the coinage and popular use of the term “Machiavellian,” which denotes a cunning and deceitful kind of resourcefulness aimed at power or any expediency.
Although Niccolo Machiavelli is almost always mainly associated with The Prince and with “Machiavellian” tactics, he also authored a variety of other works on government and other subjects, including Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livius, which, unlike The Prince, is aimed at republics, and based on such themes as patriotism, civic excellence, and open political participation.