Morals are for Sissies

Chapter VI: About New Princedoms Acquired with One’s Own Arms and Energy [Virtù]

Page 17

“And it is worth noting that nothing is harder to manage, more risky in the undertaking, or more doubtful of success, than to set up as the introducer of a new order. Such an innovator has as enemies all the people who were doing well under the old order, and only half-hearted defenders in those who hope to profit from the new. This half-heartedness derives partly from fear of opponents, who have the law on their side, and partly from human skepticism, since men don’t really believe in anything new until they have solid experience of it. The is why, whenever the enemies of a new state have occasion to attack it, they do so furiously, while its friends only languidly come to its defense, so that the venture and its supporters are likely to collapse together…it is the nature of people to be fickle; to persuade them of something is easy, but to make them stand fast in that conviction is hard. Hence things must be arranged so that when they no longer believe they can be compelled to believe by force.”

This analysis of human behavior is a typical Machiavellian idea: it is scientific, declarative and reveals the animalistic side of humanity. They tend to be quick to pledge their allegiance, but slow to give action to their thoughts. When taking over a new land, a prince must do his best to minimize the changes in the everyday lives of his new citizens, because people will be slow to support him. Change is difficult for people, and Machiavelli suggests minimizing suffering instead of compounding happiness, because it is most practical.

This concept is one Machiavelli echoes throughout The Prince. All of his advice pertaining to how Princes should acquire new lands is based on minimizing pain placed on the citizens. This may seem like a noble goal at first, until one reads the last sentence of the passage. It is clear Machiavelli is not idealistic; in fact, many consider him the exact opposite. He is a realist; that is, he aims to do the best with what the world is, rather than try to change it to match his image of perfection. His message may be read as: “lie to the people to gain their trust, then use intimidation and fear to make them obey you”. Advice such as this is quite common The Prince- because people are indecisive, it is best for the public to trust (or obey by force) one man to make decisions for them, especially in times of war, when there is not time to thoroughly debate an issue and arrive at a majority opinion. Even in Machiavelli’s Discourses, where he lays out the foundation for Republican government, he knows in times of war one man must be appointed as temporary ruler. (Discourses II-15) The US Constitution, which outlines arguably the most democratic form of government in history, gives the President the power to carry out war. This is a safeguard against the fickleness of the populace. Appointing a prince, Machiavelli argues, is one way to solve the many problems that plague government; his decisions may not pleasant, but the alternative- not making decisions- is worse than making poor or cruel ones.

The passage transcends war- it outlines one of the foundations of Machiavelli’s logic. He sets up idealism against realism and asks: which one would you rather have as your government? According to the passage people will not believe in idealism until it has been proven practical, which is why establishing a new government is so dangerous. People say they believe in ideals until the time comes to prove their beliefs, then they are hesitant to support their opinions until one side has claimed victory. Only then will they pledge their allegiance, and only to the winning side. They naturally resist change, and more often than not rebellions fail; therefore it is more practical to pledge allegiance to the existing government until the insurrection has claimed victory. People do this because they need two things in government: repetition and stability. These are the two things a Prince should aim to create because they are the most practical. People use idealism to hide the realism they really believe in, and therefore a successful government must do so as well.