The Prince is Niccolò Machiavelli's main work and was published in 1532, five years after his death. The philosopher was born in Florence, Italy, on May 3, 1469 and died in the same city, where he was buried on June 21, 1527.
Machiavelli, Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, grew up in Florence during the government of Lorenzo de Medici and entered politics at the age of 29. He was Secretary of the Second Chancellery, historian, poet, diplomat and musician of the Renaissance.
He is recognized as one of the creators of modern thought, for the fact that he thinks of the state and government as they really are and not as he would like them to be.
In the work, Machiavelli defined a separation between traditional morality related to individuals and the logic that governs governments, the reason of the State. He developed a series of advice and recommendations so that the prince could govern as efficiently as possible.
Machiavelli and the Prince
Machiavelli wrote his main work, The Prince, in 1513, but the work was not published until 1532. The book is divided into 26 chapters.
Initially, Machiavelli displays the existing types of principality and points out the distinctions between each of them. In the sequel, he explains how States decompose into hereditary and acquired Republics and Principalities, as well as ecclesiastical lordships.
In the second part, the author explains the foundations of power by analyzing laws and weapons. and how governments should organize power.
Continuing, in the third part of the work, he will discuss the rules of conduct that a Prince must embrace to rebuild Italy.
The Legacy of Machiavelli's Prince
The thought exposed in The Prince shows that the author separates what is the citizen's duty from the reason that regulates the State. For this, he develops two concepts that will be the key to understanding The Prince and Machiavellian thought:virtù and fortune .
Virtù it is the quality of the ruler, not to be confused with the virtue of the citizen. Unlike the citizen who acts in his own interest, the prince must aim for harmony and peace in his reign.
Thus, virtue it is the ruler's ability to control and overcome the difficulties imposed on his government, creating strategies to maintain its stability. Sometimes being pious and good with his citizens, sometimes severe and strong against his enemies and opponents. Pure goodness can be a failure of the government and not a quality.
The fortune relates to the idea of chance and luck. The ruler must always be aware of the “wheel of fortune”. Sometimes on top and favorable to the ruler, sometimes below creating surprises, obstacles and challenges for his government.
It is up to the prince to develop his virtue and create strategies to always be prepared for chance, reversing the fortune always in his favor, creating opportunities even in crises.
Machiavellian and Machiavellianism
Because of the idea that kindness might not be a virtue, Machiavelli received a lot of criticism. "Machiavellian" has become a pejorative adjective that refers to squalor, manipulation and disloyalty.
Likewise, the term Machiavellianism, also pejorative, is used as a reference to a cunning and hidden way of acting to get what you want.
The ends justify the means
The phrase “the ends justify the means” is also a common reference to the work The Prince. According to the common sense interpretation, the phrase means that, for Machiavelli, the goal should be reached anyway, without caring about others and the effects of decisions.
Although the phrase is not in the work, it has its origins in the way Machiavelli separates the private morals of the common citizen from the way the ruler should act.
On the other hand, O Príncipe assumes great relevance also because it shows that governments are susceptible to the civic participation of individuals. This perspective raised the citizen to a new level in the political thought of the time.
See also:Political Philosophy