The Prince has laid the foundation for all things Machiavellian, whether it be a clever
diplomatic decision to be made by a person in power, or some cunning act of rebellion by your enemy....You would blame it all on Machiavelli, if you would fail to understand his intent and the driver of his work.
After some of his principles backfired, leading to the fall of Soderini in France in 1512,
Machiavelli was banished from the court and later even accused of rebellion against the
new masters, The Medici government. These series of events led Machiavelli to suffer from what he called "The malice of fortune", pushing the once prosperous minister into abject poverty.
Retreating back to a farm, where he spent his days between wood cutters and a motely crowd, he started reflecting upon the works of Dante and Petrarch and began 'The Prince'. The aim of this has been highlighted in one of the letters he wrote to his close friend: "to
try and prove his loyalty to the Medici Government, and to show them how useful he could
actually be". But critics like to paint his ideas as evil doctrines designed for the sly hell-
breakers. Though for our context, "The Prince" was mostly a remedy for the wretched
conditions into which his country had fallen.
The primary reason why Machiavelli's works were seen as such, were his classic departure from the idea of "sugar-coating" politics. In his own words, "Many men have imagined republics and principalities that never really existed. Anyone who abandons what is, for what should be, pursues his downfall rather than his preservation."
Having meticulously described different principalities in his work, it is almost impossible to
reflect on all of them here, so we will attempt to take a look at the prudent outlines.
To the skeptical reader, The Prince nearly comes off as an evil guidebook which lays out,
without shame, the necessity of being "ambivalent" and "opportunistic", if one is to succeed
in maintaining his/her principality. Hurt the people when necessary, hurt the lords when the
time comes, but don't let your power slip away.
The facts have been laid out clearly, and the conditions for what happens when an empire is
acquired/won in a particular way are also listed. For instance, when speaking about Mixed
Principalities, he highlights the general sentiment of the public wherein they constantly
feel that a different leader would improve their lot, and in doing so they'll rebel against
their masters and open the gates to a new worthy elite . But not long after this spectacle,
they are bound to feel deceived as not all the new policies will suit their needs, which increases the chances of the newly crowned king being dethroned.
"To hold them securely", writes Machiavelli, "one must obliterate the existing line of princes
and make little to no changes in the policy". The core idea being that the laymen won't
experience much change in the policies, especially tax and the rule of law and they'll live
in peace, whilst there will be no princes to spark rebellions and chaos.
"At this point", he writes, "Men must either be pampered or annihilated, They avenge light
offenses, they cannot avenge severe ones , hence the harm one does to a man must be such as
to obviate any fear of revenge."
Quite Stark for the possession of petty power!
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