On Machiavelli's Prince

 

Nicollo Machiavelli is often seen as being ruthless and cynical person. His name is even associated with a mercurial, cunning and shrewd behavior.

That however is rather far from the truth. These stereotypes hardly do justice to this man, whose writings are above all sober and practical rather than radical and immoral. However, that fails to take into consideration a reality of the world he lived in. Sure, every so often he advocates things that can be considered immoral or unethical, but there are far and in between. Most of his advice is rather sober and benign even.

To begin with, I would like to point out that Machiavelli lived in rather dangerous world of renaissance Italy, where assassinations were commonplace. After witnessing this over and over again, he concluded that most of these deaths were completely preventable. If only people in power thought a little bit ahead, they could easily see that certain decisions would lead towards these regrettable outcomes. 

Princes, who were meant to rule for live, in reality barely lasted a few years in office before being assassinated by one of another aggrieved party, whom they managed to wrong while in office. That typically followed by the raise of a new prince who would take over from a deceased one, deal with perpetrators, then proceed to make all the same mistakes that got their predecessor assassinated and in turn end up being assassinated by someone else they wronged.

Machiavelli personally thought that a republican government is superior to that assassination galore he was witnessing, but he was also a practical man with realistic outlook on reality. He understood that princes are there to stay and it is wiser to figure out a way to work with them, rather than sit on moral high horse and perpetrate the same cycle of bloodshed over and over again. 

Modern dictators would do well to head his approach as democracy, internet and popular sovereignty is here to stay and trying to beat it with censorship, blocking the internet and riot police will do them no good, but they will not listen until revolution will kick them out. Even afterwards they would prat about how another squad of riot police would have tipped it in their favor and how Americans are plotting to destroy them with their internet and freedom of speech.

Machiavelli's advice to princes was mostly practical. It was meant to prevent them from aggravating any of their subjects to such an extent, that they would resort to assassination. It was not the ideal vision of perfect governance, but of a one that actually works. Perfect is enemy of the good and Machiavelli understood it. Instead of talking about how politicise should be government in a perfect world, he focused on how they could be government better in a real world he lived in. Nowadays his advice is too much of a real politics for some more idealistic people, but it actually work and princes who heed his advice did last longer and sometimes managed to die a natural death.

This advice is not purely historical. Even if our much more peaceful world politicians are sometimes assassinated in office. Thus, Machiavellian advice on how not get assassinated in office is as relevant as ever. After all you are but one bad decision away from being replaced by your keys to power. CGPGery video Rules for Rulers is modern take on the same principles that guided Machiavelli in writing his Il Principe. Not how world should work but how it actually works.

Despite sound advice on how best to govern, people keep repeating the old mistakes that lead us to assassinations revolutions and such. When your country has a revolution, that is not because CIA have organised it, it is because you displeased your keys to power and they have gathered to remove you.