Machiavelli's Discourses On Livy: The Common Good
Machiavelli & The Common Good
In Discourses on Livy, Machiavelli argues that the purpose of politics is to promote a “common good.” This statement holds true in Machiavelli’s The Prince, albeit differently than one might expect. It is evident in The Prince that Machiavelli believes ensuring the common good of the community should hold high priority; therefore a primary duty of the Prince to fulfill. Machiavelli’s view on how this should be obtained, however, drastically opposes the opinions and views of political philosophers of his time.
It had been a common view among political philosophers of Machiavelli’s time that a certain relationship existed between legitimate authority and moral goodness. Philosophers of this time believed that …show more content…
Ruthlessness may be exercised in order to achieve the desired end. The prince ‘should not keep faith when by so doing it would be against his interest’, and he must ‘learn not to be good’; he ‘should not worry if he incurs reproach for his cruelty so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal…it is far better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both’. [Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, SIGNET CLASSICS (New American Library, 2008) pg. 69-73.] This advice to rulers throughout The Prince (i.e. the defense of cruelty toward people) could very easily lead someone to believe Machiavelli’s book is evil or amoral. Additionally, the clear separation of ethics from politics seems to indicate there is no role for any kind of virtue in Machiavelli’s state. However, Machiavelli never promotes cruelty or other immoralities for their own sake. Machiavelli advocates them only in the interests of upholding the state, which, in Machiavelli’s view, is the ultimate good. Machiavelli states that when it is in the interest of the state, a prince must strive to act virtuously; however virtue should never take precedence over the state. Machiavelli also states that rulers should desire to be considered merciful (this coming with exceptions, of
In Discourses on Livy, Machiavelli argues that the purpose of politics is to promote a “common good.” This statement holds true in Machiavelli’s The Prince, albeit differently than one might expect. It is evident in The Prince that Machiavelli believes ensuring the common good of the community should hold high priority; therefore a primary duty of the Prince to fulfill. Machiavelli’s view on how this should be obtained, however, drastically opposes the opinions and views of political philosophers of his time.
It had been a common view among political philosophers of Machiavelli’s time that a certain relationship existed between legitimate authority and moral goodness. Philosophers of this time believed that …show more content…
Ruthlessness may be exercised in order to achieve the desired end. The prince ‘should not keep faith when by so doing it would be against his interest’, and he must ‘learn not to be good’; he ‘should not worry if he incurs reproach for his cruelty so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal…it is far better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both’. [Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, SIGNET CLASSICS (New American Library, 2008) pg. 69-73.] This advice to rulers throughout The Prince (i.e. the defense of cruelty toward people) could very easily lead someone to believe Machiavelli’s book is evil or amoral. Additionally, the clear separation of ethics from politics seems to indicate there is no role for any kind of virtue in Machiavelli’s state. However, Machiavelli never promotes cruelty or other immoralities for their own sake. Machiavelli advocates them only in the interests of upholding the state, which, in Machiavelli’s view, is the ultimate good. Machiavelli states that when it is in the interest of the state, a prince must strive to act virtuously; however virtue should never take precedence over the state. Machiavelli also states that rulers should desire to be considered merciful (this coming with exceptions, of