Machiavelli

When it comes to politics, no other Renaissance book as has been more influential than The Prince, written by the Italian Niccolo Machiavelli and published in 1513.

Machiavelli, a humanist, had a practical approach to politics. He came up with the idea that “the end justifies the means”. He argued that whether a government is ‘good’, can only be determined by looking at whether it is effective, whether it is working out well. And according to Machiavelli, effective government is increasing power. In The Prince, he asks the question about who is a better ruler, the ruler who is loved by his subjects or the ruler who is feared by them. He gives the answer himself: “it would be desirable to be both the one and the other; but as it is difficult to be both at the same time, it is much more safe to be feared than to be loved, when you have to choose between the two.”⁴

The Prince has often been read as a book that promotes a sly and mean way of attaining political power. The word ‘machiavellian’ therefore has come to refer to tyranny and politically corrupt people. But Machiavelli makes it very clear that despite the fact that political actions sometimes go beyond moral considerations, morals in general are very important.