To review a book that was written in the early
sixteenth century and has been read and reviewed by hundreds of scholars over five
centuries is a daunting task as there isn’t much to be said that hasn’t already
been said. Machiavelli, a political scholar as well as a politician and
historian, has written in his book “The Prince” such guiding principles that
startle everyone who reads it. It is no wonder then that Machiavellian is an
adjective today and connotes self-interest guided by disregard for morality and
sanction of manipulation and exploitation.
Niccolό Machiavelli grew up in the Italy of
the late 15th and early 16th century which was a
tumultuous era in terms of politics. City states and Popes were fighting each
other for political control and republics and monarchy were replacing each other
again and again. Being a member of the Florence republic and responsible for
negotiation and military affairs, Machiavelli was involved first hand in the
Italian politics. After the fall of the Florence republic and coming back of
the Medici prince, he withdrew from active politics and spent more time in
scholarly work. And it was during those times that he produced his most eternal
work in “The Prince”.
Written in the form of an advisory to a
monarch, the book falls under the broad category of ‘mirrors for princes’
genre, although it departs far away from all other books written in that genre
except for Kautilya’s Arthashastra with which it shares a lot of similarities.
While most other books are written for hereditary princes, Machiavelli’s book is
more of a guide for a new prince who establishes power either through his own
arms and merit, or by good fortune or by crimes. More importantly while several
other books in this genre talk about highly placed morals and ethics and tend
to be idealistic, Machiavelli’s Prince is realistic and is instinctive. The
ends justify the means in case of Machiavelli and there are no value judgments
about right or wrong when it comes to establishing and preserving one’s rule.
The book shocks a first time reader with its
candid use of expressions like tyranny, torture, crime, destruction etc. It is
very clear that Machiavelli’s objective is to tell the prince how should he be
successful in establishing his rule without the risk of being ousted and in
this, he openly advises to crush the adversaries, that too, brutally. In the
Third Chapter, he says that men should be either kindly treated or utterly
crushed as they can revenge lighter injuries, but not grave ones. Such remarks
are scary at times and give the impression of Machiavelli being a very sinister
and shrewd politician. However, Machiavelli also makes the point that while the
prince may slaughter people and gain power, such means shall not lead to glory.
Instead, he suggests that the Prince should be on a friendly footing with his
people or else, he shall not survive in adversity.
Machiavelli has seen the times when princes
were using mercenaries in war and he has a strong view against it. He exhorts
princes to have their own army and never hire mercenaries. Even when seeking
help from allies, he asks not to take help from an ally who is too powerful as
that could endanger the sovereignty of self. He also is of the view that a
Prince may arm his people and keep them loyal to himself as well as capable of
fighting for him.
On various ethical issues, Machiavelli takes
very practical, albeit, unpopular stands. While he agrees that a Prince should
not be hated by its people, he prefers being feared by people than being loved.
He says that since love and fear cannot co-exist so it is far better to be
feared than to be loved. By such an
advice he means to say that one’s wish to be popular should not make one weak
and people should not dare disobey him. Undoubtedly Machiavelli belongs to the
school of thought which prefers toughness over participative management. To
take analogy from modern day administrative theories, it would appear that
Machiavelli supports the task-oriented leader more than the people-oriented
one.
This also brings home the point that
Machiavelli’s principles on Prince are not merely political principles
applicable in a monarchy. Within political sphere, these principles apply to
modern day leaders as well who wish to have a supreme control over their
polity. Though the guidelines suit the dictatorial and totalitarian form of
government more, we do find examples of leaders in democratic form of
governments as well. Many present and past political leaders have shown the
adherence to Machiavellian principles and have been successful, though not so
much loved by people. The working styles of leaders like Winston Churchill,
Margaret Thatcher, George Bush, Indira Gandhi, Narendra Modi etc show traces of
Machiavellian style of ruling, though none can be said to be totally
Machiavellian.
Apart from politics, Machiavelli’s principles
are also seen to be applicable to management scenarios in the corporate and
private sector. A new manager who needs to establish himself in an organization
or a new entrepreneur who wants to dominate the market may find recourse in “The
Prince”. The principles of not using mercenaries and avoiding allies who are
more powerful than self can be extended to the realm of mergers and
acquisitions in the private sector. Corporate tycoons like Dhirubhai Ambani or
Bill Gates do reflect using some of the Machiavellian principles when they
became giants in their own markets. Similar examples can also be found in
smaller organizations.
The reason that the book is being read and
reviewed even after about 600 years of its publication is that the book is not
about just Italy or about a Prince. Its influence is not limited to Italy, but
to the entire world, neither to monarchy but to the entire arena of politics,
nay, to the entire gamut of social organizations. One can disagree and
criticize various elements of Machiavelli’s “The Prince” as cunning and immoral
but one cannot deny the authenticity of the instinctive realism that the book
has. One can praise the book or hate the book, but one just cannot ignore
Machiavelli’s masterpiece.
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