“The Prince” is one of the most famous historical and political works. It was written in 1513 Florence, Italy, but published only in 1532. This book can be understood as the first modern text of political theory in the West because it sets down a pattern of conduct and policy which a “wise” sovereign should follow if he desires success in winning and maintaining a kingdom, and as the most important it separates statecraft and politics from ethics and personal gain often mixed by Renaissance writers. The humanists who had written books about princes had written in the idealistic and scholastic medieval tradition; they were ridden by theology and metaphysics. Machiavelli rejected metaphysics, theology, and idealism typical for other works of his time. The whole direction of his work is toward a political realism, unknown to the formal writing of Renaissance (Cunningham and Reich, 2005). In this work, Machiavelli gives insights into social organization as the basis of politics. In contrast to other writers of his time, Machiavelli includes the discussion of how to rule conquered territory, what advisers a prince should rely on, how he should conduct himself among the intrigues of diplomacy, whether he should depend mainly on fortified castles or entrenched camps in warfare. They are not the suggestions found in the moral teaching of Christianity, and are hardly the things we would expect from the conscientious civil servant who had devoted fourteen years of his life to the Florentine republic. He had the daring to turn against the whole idealistic preoccupation of the humanists. It is possible to say that Machiavelli had the capacity to distinguish between man as he ought to be and man as he actually is, between the ideal form of institutions and the pragmatic conditions under which they operate (Cunningham and Reich, 2005).
This book can be understood as the first modern text of political theory because it contains explanation power, not only for the sixteenth century, but for the ages that have followed. Machiavelli foreshadows political changes and singles out the main factors and issues of power typical for present-day rulers. His ideas can be applied to modern state and explain political communities, whatever the epoch and whatever the governmental structure. ‘The Prince’ separates ethical principles and statecraft, idealism and realism in politics. ‘The Prince’ is a polemical work. This work unveils the essence of political power and the role of a sovereign in politics (Cunningham and Reich 2005). Machiavelli claims that the successful statesman is an artist, concerned with nuances of public mood, approximations of operative motives, guesswork as to the tactics of his opponents, back-breaking work in unifying his own side by compromise and concession. In chapter XVI, Machiavelli states:
“Liberality exercised in a way that does not bring you the reputation for it. Therefore, any one wishing to maintain among men the name of liberal is obliged to avoid no attribute of magnificence; so that a prince thus inclined will consume in such acts all his property, and will be compelled in the end, if he wish to maintain the name of liberal” (Machiavelli).
The Renaissance reformers have often succeeded in bringing public morale closer to some ethical norm; they have never succeeded as statesmen. This book can be understood as the first modern text of political theory because it explains inner motives and goals of a political leader and becomes a collection of principles: struggling for survival, maneuvering for position, fighting over spoils. The strong men have come forward in every state, using the rhetoric of mass interest and national glory to extend their power and entrench their class. The first law of internal policy is to hold on to power, of external policy it is to extend the influence and control. The strength of this book is that Machiavelli can be seen as an observer of politics. The measure of man is his ability to extend this sphere of the socially possible. Machiavelli is realistic about methods in the politics; he accepts the superior force of “reason of state”. This work marked a new era in political though of the West and marked the autonomy of politics, politics which is beyond good and bad morals, which has its own laws against which it is futile to rebel.
References
- Cunningham, L.S., Reich, J.J. (2005). Culture and Values, A survey of the Humanities, Volume two, sixth edition. Wordsworth.
- Machiavelli, N. (n.d.). The Prince.