NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI (1469-1527)

1. NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI (1469-1527) eadarkoh

2. Introduction • The Italian statesman from Florence, Niccolo Machiavelli, wrote The Prince. • In the Prince, Machiavelli talks about the importance of the acquisition, the maintenance and the exercise of power by the Prince. • He makes it clear that the most important thing is the acquisition of power and that how power is acquired is not really an important issue. • For the Prince, issues about justice, morality, right and wrong are as unimportant as they are unnecessary in the acquisition, maintenance and exercise of power. eadarkoh

3. Machiavelli’s Birth • The Machiavellis were an ancient Florentine family to which Niccolo was born in 1469. • His lawyer father was able to provide him with education in the classics to prepare him for public service • His other books included ,The Discourses on Livy(1513-17), Art of War (1521), Florentine History (1525), The brilliant comedy, Mandragola, can never hope to erase the adjective ‘Machiavellian’ from the popular mind. eadarkoh

4. Machiavelli’s Birth (cont’d) • He is said to advocate utterly ruthless and devious methods for the acquisition of power or doing down of one’s enemies. • The Prince is full of hard and calculated advice about how a new prince should act to establish himself in a recently conquered princedom, and a good deal of the advice is about the use of violence and deceit. eadarkoh

5. Machiavelli’s Birth(cont’d) • The prince cannot be loved by everybody. • From this comes another of Machiavelli’s political axioms for a prudent prince: Treat everybody as a potential assassin, though it is clear that assassins prepared to risk horrible deaths to kill princes are rare. • While princes are expected to be friendly to their subjects, the prince must wear the mask. • While unmasking others, concealing his inner malevolence, while seeing through the inner malevolence which the prince must always assume is there if he is going to survive. eadarkoh

6. Education and Profession • Machiavelli entered the service of the Florentine republic in 1498 and busied himself about its military and diplomatic business until 1513. • During this period, Machiavelli attempted to re-found Florence’s hopes of military glory on a citizens militia. • He also met the rising stars of Italian politics, popes and princes, especially Ceasar Borgia. • He also visited the courts of the French King, Louis XII and the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian and these experiences may have provided him with something like an outsider’s view of Italian politics as petty, vacillating and mildly contemptible. • Machiavelli moved in circles high enough to observe the highest fliers at very close quarters, and was already shrewdly weighing up their actions and characters in his diplomatic reports to his masters in Florence. eadarkoh

7. Education and Profession (cont’d) • In 1512, the Medici princes, backed by the pope and the Spaniards, returned to Florence and that seriously affected Machiavelli, the successful servant of the former republic. • He lost his job and in 1513 was tortured, imprisoned and fined for suspected complicity in a republican conspiracy against the new regime. • Machiavelli, however, still had important friends who he thought would be able and willing to lobby the Medici on his behalf. • His most famous work, The Prince, completed in 1513 was intended to show Florence’s new masters that its author was a man whom it would be foolish to overlook in the matter of public employment. eadarkoh

8. Education and Profession (cont’d) • At the age of 29, in July 1498, Machiavelli was appointed secretary to the Council of Ten, the second most important executive council in the (Florentine) Republic, which combined the functions of a War and a Home Office. • There were wars in Italy all the time that Machiavelli held office and he was sent on many missions to Italian and foreign princes: to the Pope, King of France, Emperor Maximilian, etc. • Four years into his career, a friend of his, Piero Soderini was elected president for life for the Florentine Republic. • Though a civil servant Machiavelli contrived to have a considerable say in the making of policy. eadarkoh

9. Education and Profession (cont’d) • Machiavelli lost in job in 1512 when his friend lost power when the Spaniards took Florence and brought back the Medici. • He had served for nearly fifteen years and had acquired a taste for active political life. • Though he knew that he could not aspire to govern, he still allowed himself to hope that he might be in future what he had been in the past. • He tried to win the favour of the new regime and to get employment without success. eadarkoh

10. Education and Profession (cont’d) • Machiavelli blamed several persons, not least Piero Soderini, for the disasters that befell the republic, but he was also not convinced that the absolute rule of the Medici was best suited to Florence. • He merely accepted that rule because he believed that in the circumstances, it was impossible to get rid of it. • He was never won over to them; his heart was never with them. • He believe that where conditions allow it, democracy or free government is better than monarchy or princely rule. eadarkoh

11. Education and Profession (cont’d) • Machiavelli’s character is easily misunderstood because it is uncommon, so free from sentimentalities and illusions in which most men take comfort. • His intelligence is keen; he lays bare our baser motives with a matter-of-factness which makes us uneasy. He is imaginative and lucid. • His lucidity and cynicism make him cold to persons accustomed to look at the world through a comfortable haze. But he is not cold; he is as much capable of passion as of cynicism. • He is not a man of very wide sympathies; but what he sees, he sees clearly and in sharp outline. • He has few illusions about himself and still fewer about his friends eadarkoh

12. Child of Renaissance • Machiavelli was also the child of the Renaissance, which was seen as the era of ‘the discovery of man.’ • During the renaissance the importance of man was recognized and he was treated as an actor of social, political and economic events and a central figure of social milieu. • Machiavelli placed the prince at the apex of the state structure and not the church. • Ideals of religion are of little or no importance to him compared to the importance the political unity and integrity of Italy. • Machiavelli regarded the nation-state rather than the unification of all territories under the church, as the supreme goal. eadarkoh

13. Child of Renaissance (cont’d) • Renaissance had kept aside the supernatural ideal of divine perfection and given priority to material progress through harnessing all the resources in the possession of society. • Machiavelli followed the same ideal as a man of activity to whom the world is not a place of enjoyment of beauty and comfort but a place activity where dynamism can change society. eadarkoh

14. Machiavelli’s works • Moreover he wrote his books in enforced retirement and to prepare the way, if possible, for a return to active political life. • It was after 1512; during the years of his retirement that Machiavelli wrote his four books on government, on war, an on history. • The shortest and most famous, The Prince, was written in 1513 to attract the attention of the Medici and induce them to employ him in affairs of state. eadarkoh

15. Machiavelli’s works (cont’d) • The arguments in The Prince, was perfectly consistent with the arguments of the much longer Discourses, in which Machiavelli expresses strong preference for popular government. • There is scarcely a maxim in the The Prince, whose equivalent cannot be found in the Discourses. • It is in The Prince that Machiavelli owes his evil reputation. • At worst The Prince has been called a wicked one and at best, a book not concerned with morality. • But in the Discourses, the milder, fuller and less offensive book. eadarkoh

16. Machiavelli’s works (cont’d) • The Art of War, treats of politics only in relation to war and the Florentine Histories, put forward no political opinions not to be found in the The Prince and the Discourses. • The Prince and the Discourses are important because they tell us about how power is to be gained and preserved. eadarkoh

17. Sources of Information (cont’d) • He does not merely depend on the examples of history. • Both the Prince and the Discourses are filled with detailed accounts of the strategies and policies, the successes and failures of such cotemporaries as Cesare Borgia and King Louis XII. eadarkoh

18. Human Nature • Machiavelli’s chief interests were associated with the practical affairs and he viewed the activities of man with special interest which led him to draw conclusions about human nature which were not always palatable to us. • People want to be loved or feared. • They also want wealth. This motive is so powerful that men cannot imagine any separation from or to sacrifice it to the cause of other. eadarkoh

19. Human Nature (cont’d) • So great is man’s attachment to wealth that the desire is unlimited. • They want to get everything, but their ability is limited and as a result their desires remain unfulfilled; some people get more wealth, some do not. • In this way, disparity develops out of which comes enmity and sometimes war – the consequences of which are disastrous. eadarkoh

20. Human Nature (cont’d) • The human desires are insatiable, because they want to have everything and do everything, while fortune limits their possessions and capacity of enjoyment. • Machiavelli portrays a frustrating picture of human nature - man is selfish, quarrelsome, and power-hungry. • Machiavelli fails to recognize the importance of social values and people’s allegiance to these. • To him, people of his time were guided by materialistic considerations and not by moral and ethical principles. eadarkoh

21. Machiavelli’s Italy • The most revolutionary aspect of The Prince is that while from Greek philosophy down to the Renaissance all philosophers thought of the state as a means to achieve further ends, Machiavelli saw power of the state as the end of the state. • To him every state should have the aim of maximizing its political power and the failure of the state in this enterprise will throw it into great turmoil. eadarkoh

22. Machiavelli’s Italy • In Machiavelli's time Italy was divided into numerous small city-states and there was constant struggle among them. • Five of the largest of such states were: • The kingdom of Naples in the south, • Milan in the north-west, • Venice in the north-east, • The republic of Florence and the Papal state. eadarkoh

23. The pathologies of Italy (cont’d) • Machiavelli identified several factors that stood in the way of the realization of the goal of the unification of Italy: • The jealousies among the states were so severe that none wanted to cooperate with the other; • There was no powerful prince who could go ahead or had the courage and material resources necessary for unification; • There were corruption, moral degradation and infidelity in every sphere of society; • Italy was a characteristic example of institutional decay; • Cruelty and murder became a day to day affair; eadarkoh

24. The pathologies of Italy (cont’d) 6. Values and principles were banished from society; 7. Christian honesty and ethics were the values of the past; 8. Profligacy (recklessness, wastefulness) and debauchery (dishonesty, wickedness) were frequent; 9. Struggle for power was very common; 10. Naked selfishness reigned everywhere; 11. It was an age of bastards and adventurers. The picture of Italian society then was a picture of Hobbes’ state of nature. eadarkoh

25. The pathologies of Italy (cont’d) • Commerce, trade and communication made their expansion in Western Europe during the Renaissance but lack of unification failed to bring about any favourable results in Italy. • In short, turmoil of Italy could not cope with the new situation. eadarkoh

26. Machiavelli’s Personal Experiences • The Prince opens with a cringing dedication to a Medici Prince, which contains a thinly veiled plea for employment in Florence’s new anti-republican government. • History, it is said hardly contains another such blatant example of public coat-turning. • The Prince contains many references of ancient history. • All that Machiavelli seems to be saying is that if you want to be a successful prince, these are the examples follow them. eadarkoh

27. Machiavelli’s Personal Experiences (cont’d) All the main points of the Prince are based on Machiavelli’s three personal experiences. These included: • His reaction to the famous military scandal in 1499; • His first diplomatic mission to France in 1500; • His meeting with Cesare Borgia in 1502. eadarkoh

28. His Reaction to the famous Military Scandal of 1499 • The city-state of Florence was trying to capture the city-state of Pisa. • The Florentines had already been trying without success to capture Pisa for four years. • To historians, this war meant a great deal to the Florentines. • Pisa not only provided a useful outlet to the sea for Florentine trade, but also its possession was a matter of pride. • The Florentines did not have troops on their own so they relied on mercenaries who fought for hard cash. • In 1499, Pisa was besieged by troops hired by Florence and led by Paulo Vitelli, a very expensive mercenary. eadarkoh

29. The famous military scandal of 1499 (cont’d) • In August 1499, his troops were on the verge of capturing Pisa when Vitelli ordered them to retreat. • This news was received in Florence with dismay and suspicion. • The Florentines wondered what the intensions of the mercenaries were. • They believed that if they had pressed on, Pisa could have surrendered. • Vitalli was accused of being a traitor. • He was subsequently trapped and executed. • Machiavelli who was then in the diplomatic circles knew all about the executions. eadarkoh

30. The famous military scandal of 1499 (cont’d) • According to Machiavelli, mercenaries and allies were not to be trusted. • He accused allies as being less reliable. They can take from you what they have taken away from others. • He also accused mercenaries as unreliable and argued that they fight not for their country, they are more interested in saving their skins and employ civilians if that will benefit them. • Machiavelli believed that city-states must be militarily self-sufficient. eadarkoh

31. The famous military scandal of 1499 (cont’d) • He favoured soldiers who will fight with self-devotion for their friends, family, countrymen and women and fatherland. • To establish himself firmly, a prince must be a soldier and create an army to defend his country. • This advice was taken by several countries. eadarkoh

32. The famous military scandal of 1499 (cont’d) • In the Prince, Machiavelli refers to the Vitelli affair and states, “a prince must build on sound foundation otherwise he is bound to come to grief. The main foundation of every state are good laws and good arms, and because you cannot have good laws without good arms and where there are good arms, good laws inevitably follow, I shall discuss laws but give my attention to arms. Now I say the arms on which the Prince bases the defense of his territory are either his own or mercenaries. Mercenaries are useless and dangerous. If a prince bases the defense of his territory on mercenaries, he will never achieve stability or security. Mercenaries are disunited thirsty for money, undisciplined, and disloyal. I should have little need to belabor this point because, the present ruin of Italy has been caused by nothing else but the reliance placed on mercenary troops for so many years” eadarkoh

33. Machiavelli’s First Diplomatic Mission to France • In 1500, Machiavelli went to France to the Court of King Louis XII. • Louis was an ally of Florence and had provided Florence with troops for another assault on Pisa. • This assault had also ended in a disastrous failure. • The mission of Machiavelli was to explain and persuade the King that the failure was not the fault of Florence but due to the indiscipline of the French troops. • This was the first time Machiavelli was travelling outside Italy. When he reached the French Court, he was shocked. eadarkoh

34. Machiavelli’s First Diplomatic Mission to France • The French, he learnt had no respect for the Italians and the Florentines for not having an army and being governed by merchants not committed to war. • Machiavelli was referred to as “Mr. Nothing”. • He was shocked but he learnt some lessons from it. eadarkoh

35. Machiavelli’s First Diplomatic Mission to France (cont’d) • He learnt that in the game of politics as it was being played, it was not enough to be thrifty, frugal and economical one must be able to: • Spend money, • Use force, • Take quick decisions. • Act dynamically and ruthlessly (adamant, callous, cruel, merciless, unrelenting, remorseless and barbarous). eadarkoh

36. Machiavelli’s meeting with Cesare Borgia in 1502 • Cesare Borgia with some external supported in 1502 engaged in the conquest of a group of territories in Eastern and Central Italy which had once belonged to the Papacy. • He did this with a mixture of persuasion and force. • He begirded his enemies with promises and stabbed them at the back. • He watched Cesare Borgia use this technique with success. • Machiavelli was also there when Cesare Borgia reconciled himself with four of his disloyal captains by the simple expediency of having them strangled to death. eadarkoh

37. Machiavelli’s meeting with Cesare Borgia in 1502 (cont’d) • He was also present when Cesare Borgia rewarded his lieutenant, Ramirez de Lorqua, by having him cut into two pieces and displayed in the town square. • Machiavelli admired these devices. • According to him they restored Borgia’s authority and enabled him to get on with the work and helped him establish a fairly governed city-state. eadarkoh

38. Machiavelli’s meeting with Cesare Borgia in 1502 (cont’d) • These methods involve deceits, but other rulers were using the same methods including the Pope and some kings in Europe. • He thus argued for the establishment of princely rule. • He argued that one could use methods which may not be privately admired but yield the required result in the final analysis hence the statement “the end justifies the means”. eadarkoh

39. Foundation of government and Reason of state • In the Middle Ages, the church propagated the doctrine that government was created by God to punish men for their sin. • Machiavelli says that the government is founded upon the weakness and insufficient capacity of men. • Since men are incapable of protecting themselves, a government is necessary. eadarkoh

40. Nation-state and Power Politics • For Machiavelli, a regular army is a must for a state for its own defence and to frustrate foreign aggression. • In The Prince, he says mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous. • Mercenaries have no love for the country for which they fight. eadarkoh

41. Nation-state and Power Politics (cont’d) • A well organized central administration is another powerful element of a nation-state. • Machiavelli recommends a well organized and strong central administration. • He advices the prince to rule ruthlessly; and to resort to both law and force. • He says in The Prince – A prince must build on sound foundations, otherwise he is bound to come to grief. The main foundations of every state are good laws and good arms. eadarkoh

42. Nation-state and Power Politics (cont’d) • Machiavelli gives highest priority to the integrity and unity of the state. • It will be the first and foremost duty of a prince or king to bring about unity to avoid the disruptive forces and warfare that characterized the Italy of his time. • He sees ‘politics as a battle– a constant struggle for power. • All politics are power politics • A state therefore must have to build up its own independent, regular and faithful army. • He advises that a nation-state without a strong army is highly susceptible to foreign invasion, eadarkoh

43. Nation-state and Power Politics (cont’d) • He says in chapter XIV of The Prince – A prince should therefore have no other aim or thought, nor take any other thing for his study, but war and its organization and discipline, for that is the only art that is necessary to one who commands, and it is of such virtue that it no only maintains those who were born princes, but often enables men of private fortune to attain that rank. When princes think more of luxury than of arms, they lose their state. The chief cause of the loss of states is the contempt of this art. eadarkoh

44. Nation-state and Power Politics (cont’d) • To Machiavelli, the sole aim of the prince is to be an expert in managing and organizing war to enhance the power of the state. • Power, to him, is the only reason of the state. • Acquisition of more and more power is the sole objective of many of the modern states • This explains why nations do not hesitate to throw values and judgements to the dogs. eadarkoh

45. Nation-state and Power Politics (cont’d) • Today he is regarded as the greatest exponent of doctrine of power politics in international politics. • Machiavelli’s also banishes Christianity from the state’s domain. • Today the leaders of big powers are least interested in religious affairs, and religion never stands in the way of exercising power or making alliances. • Machiavelli’s assumption that the state must pursue a policy of self-interest and not of bible morality was later adopted by theorists like Hegel,Bismarck and Hitler. eadarkoh

46. Law and Omnipotent Legislator • Machiavelli’s emphasis upon law and legislator comes from his view of human nature. • To him, men are restless and run after illusive good. • When a society becomes corrupt any attempt to reform it will not succeed at all. • Only a powerful statesman can save a corrupt republic from imminent ruin. eadarkoh

47. Law and Omnipotent Legislator (cont’d) • The entire structure of the state stand two pillars one is good law and the other is good arms. • He says in The Prince ‘A prince must build on sound foundations; otherwise he is bound to come to grief’. eadarkoh

48. Law and Omnipotent Legislator (cont’d) • Machiavelli in The Prince and Discourses establishes the supremacy of human law and advocates the secularization of politics. • Machiavelli believes that all states, unless external causes disrupt them, pass through the same cycle of change, from youth through maturity to decay, and thinks that it is the mark of a great statesman that he gives his state a solid constitution, prolonging its maturity for as long as possible. eadarkoh

49. Law and Omnipotent Legislator (cont’d) • For Machiavelli, the state is not co-ordinate with the church; rather it contains within itself all authority there is within the territory it embraces. • The family is prior to the state, and nothing is superior to it. • The church is part of the state • The Church is a voluntary association whose rights are defined by the state. eadarkoh

50. Law and Omnipotent Legislator (cont’d) • This conception of the state later gave birth to the notion of sovereignty as popularized by Jean Bodin and Thomas Hobbes, though Machiavelli himself never makes any explicit notion of sovereignty. • The Machiavellian conception of the state is an organized mass of power used by those who control it for the pursuit of whatever ends seem good to them. • Machiavelli took for granted that nearly everyone wants to belong to a powerful and respected political community. • Machiavelli condemns Christian morals because they are focused on the other world. • The Christian virtues he believes are servile in their effects on character. eadarkoh