The Prince

1. Oliverotto da Fermo would be the most successful in the modern world at running a business. In his time he was able form his own government and declare himself the prince. He did this when he “rode up and down the town and besieged the chief magistrate in the palace” (Machiavelli) causing fear in many people. These people obeyed him out of fear which was why he was able to become the prince of his government. In modern society this may not have worked as well as it did back in his time because the public would have reacted differently. The fear he caused within the people would stay the same though, which is why he would have been successful in the mafia. In the mafia force, fear, and power are important and Oliverotto would be able to take advantage of these three things. He rode on horseback and was able to get what he wanted out of anger by force. The fear was a product of this force which would follow in the majority of people because it is a natural human emotion. These two things would only increase his power in the mafia as his own allies would turn to him and strengthen his power as more forceful acts were done.

2. The prince’s greatest ally is the citizens of his ruling area. There are two types of people, commoners and the nobles. A prince who is put in power by the people is far more likely to succeed than one put in power by the nobles. The nobles would put a prince in place because they cannot control the people easily. This prince will not have the people on his side because he was put in place to oppress them. Also, the nobles will be much harder to please than the common people, and they will be more dishonest as they try to gain power for themselves. If a prince is put in power by the people, he has a better chance of staying in power. The people will go along with his decisions better and be easier to please. They will be easy to please because they will feel more important than they would to a prince who was elected by the nobles, even if he were to treat them well. “A prince created by the people must retain the people’s friendship, a fairly easy task. A prince created by the nobles must still try to win over the people’s affection” (Machiavelli). This shows that a prince who has been allied by the people and chosen will have an easy road than one who has not been.

3. Machiavelli thinks that generosity is a good thing in some situations, but in others it can hurt the prince. A prince who tries to be to generous can end up losing some of his power. Machiavelli explains that for a prince to be generous he fist has to be selfish. A prince who wants to give money to the poorest people would first have to raise taxes to obtain the money. This would cause bad reactions because of the high taxes so generosity would not be a good thing in that situation. A prince who is known for his generosity is a bad prince according to Machiavelli because he will deplete all of his recourses (Machiavelli). On the other hand, a prince who is at first frugal with his money and recourses, will be able to become known as generous as he can use his saved money to help the poor, without taxing them unjustly. Machiavelli basically believes that generosity can lead to the downfall of a prince, is self-defeating, and will eventually lead to hatred of the prince over time.

4. Machiavelli’s book tells a prince how to be a successful ruler by being forceful and brutal. The Beatitudes are the word of God and disagree completely with Machiavelli. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5 New International Version). When someone is meek, they are not forceful and demanding as Machiavelli says a prince should be. A person who is meek is humble and patient, not someone who wants the upmost power and goes out and tries to gain it, as Machiavelli thinks a prince should. “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7 New International Version). The Beatitudes stated that those who are merciful and care for the well being of others will be shown mercy back. Machiavelli says that a prince may never be merciful because his enemies will take advantage of him, but God wants people to love their enemies as their neighbors and they will receive the greatest gift, a spot in Heaven. While Machiavelli thinks that a perfect prince must be a power fiend, hungering for more and more power, destroying his enemies, listing to the Beatitudes is what is necessary. The Beatitudes are Gods words written down and if they are followed, then the prince will have eternal happiness in the Kingdom of God. If he is to follow Machiavelli, all of what he worked for and got unjustly will be taken when his mortal life is ended.

5. The Beatitudes want people to follow God’s word and strive to be perfect. As only God himself can be perfect, Machiavelli focuses on other things. Machiavelli wants the prince to strive to be as powerful as he can be, not as holy as he can be. By doing this the prince will be the best he can be, which is the main goal for a prince in his life time. The Beatitudes say “blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3 New International Version) but Machiavelli’s wants the prince to focus on his royal kingdom. If a prince does this he will be a better ruler than one who listens to the Beatitudes because a prince who listens to them will be a weak ruler. “I say, therefore, that the arms with which a prince defends his state are either his own, or they are mercenaries, auxiliaries, or mixed.” (Machiavelli). Here he is saying that the prince only needs himself and his allies, not God to be successful in what his job is. His job is to be a good ruler, not a religious man patiently waiting for a Kingdom he will never rule. The early birds gets the worm and a go getter type of prince that Machiavelli tells princes to be is the best king of prince that there possibly is.

Machiavelli, N. (1532). The Prince. Florence: Antonio Blado d'Asola. .