lightning strikes twice

The Prince – Niccolo Machiavelli Finished 25-Nov-04

This book and the author have been cast in a poor light – even tupac had a gangster rap cd named after Machiavelli. Generally, this book is thought to promote deceit and to demolish virtue, and mostly now by reputation.

But on reading, it is far from that — it is rather a sensible, well reasoned and well argued treatment of maintaining power. An examination of “realpolitik”.

The real question is whether this “power at all costs” rationale can be justified. Machiavelli’s assumption is that a ruler will and should do anything to retain power. Inside this scope, the writing isn’t particularly scandalous.

Ch 17: “Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with.”