Niccolo Machiavelli Was a Sixteenth

Niccolo Machiavelli was a sixteenth century political philosopher based in Italy, best known for his work "The Prince" ("Il Principe"). Machiavelli is considered even today as one of the most remarkable as well as controversial political power analyzers of medieval times. Niccolo Machiavelli was born in an old and influential but impoverished Tuscan family in Florence, Italy, on 3rd May, 1469. His forefathers hailed from Montespertoli, a small community which was located some distance away from Florence between the Val di Pesa and the Val da Elsa. Machiavelli's father, Bernardo, was a lawyer, and most probably an illegitimate child. This disqualified Machiavelli from being selected as a candidate for electoral politics but did not prevent him from joining public service. Machiavelli's father possessed a personal library consisting of a small collection of books by Roman and Greek philosophers as well as several books on the history of Italy. Thus, young Machiavelli had access to some of the best works on classical ideas and history. Machiavelli was taught Latin by some of the best teachers and he was given a strong humanist education. His mother, Bartolomea de' Nelli died in 1496 and his father passed away in 1500. In 1501, Machiavelli married Marietta Corsini. (the Literature Network, 2009); (Harris; Lock; Rees, 2000); ("Niccolo (di Bernardo) Machiavelli: 1469-1527," n. d.)

Not much is known about other details of his early life till 1498 when the young, twenty-nine-year-old Niccolo Machiavelli jumped into the volatile political scenario of Florence by assisting the political faction that was instrumental in overthrowing Girolamo Savonarola, a dominant political and religious figure of Florence. Subsequently, Machiavelli was recognized for his exceptional administrative skills by the "Signory and Secretary" and voted as the Chancellor of the Second Chancery, a coveted and responsible post. He was also entrusted with several responsibilities involving the handling of Florentine foreign affairs in the "Council of the Ten of Liberty and Peace." This was a governmental organization meant for handling sensitive matters related to foreign affairs and warfare. Machiavelli took part in local politics as well as diplomatic missions to other countries. His various official journeys to foreign countries included diplomatic missions to Austria to meet Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian and to Louis XII. (Harris; Lock; Rees, 2000); ("Niccolo (di Bernardo) Machiavelli: 1469-1527," n. d.)

Niccolo Machiavelli also went along with the newly elected Pope Julius II to Bologna and Perugia on the Pope's first campaign in 1503. He performed his duties faithfully in the service of the republic for the next fourteen years. During this period, he got a number of opportunities to closely observe the internal machinery of the government. Machiavelli also got the opportunity to meet distinguished personalities, notable amongst who was Cesare Borgia, who provided Machiavelli the major outline for his masterpiece, "The Prince." Apart from his administrative, secretarial and diplomatic duties, Machiavelli also served as a personal advisor to Piero Soderini, who was the "republican 'gonfalonier' or head of state" for ten years from 1502 to 1512. He was appointed as the Chancellor of Nove di Milizia in 1507 when he created an infantry division which later fought at the battle of 1509 to capture Pisa. (Harris; Lock; Rees, 2000); ("Niccolo (di Bernardo) Machiavelli: 1469-1527," n. d.)

The political climate of Florence changed abruptly when Spanish forces invaded Italy in 1512. The infantry force raised by Machiavelli was defeated at Prato by the Holy League. The Medici, who had ruled Florence for centuries but had been ousted since 1494, came back to power, overthrowing the republican government of Soderini and installing their own type of autocratic government. Machiavelli had been immediately expelled from office for having held a high position in the previous regime and harboring strong pro-republican feelings. Subsequently he was falsely accused for plotting against the Medici and thrown into jail in Bargello where he was terribly tortured. At Machiavelli's continuous insistence that he was innocent, he was pardoned by Leo X, the new pope, and sent to his country residence in Percussina, around six miles away from Florence along with his wife and six children. (Harris; Lock; Rees, 2000); ("Niccolo (di Bernardo) Machiavelli: 1469-1527," n. d.)

Here, Niccolo Machiavelli focused most of his time on studying and writing. Despite his overwhelming desire to return to public life to serve his state and countrymen, Machiavelli was forced to stay out of politics and public life by successive regimes as a result of his active past. Machiavelli's political and public career was terminated at only 43 years of age; however, he utilized his enforced retirement to pursue his new interest as an analyst and writer which later on provided him with literary immortality. (Harris; Lock; Rees, 2000); ("Niccolo (di Bernardo) Machiavelli: 1469-1527," n. d.) the most reputed works of Machiavelli, "Discorsi Sopra La Prima Deca Di Tito Livio" meaning "Discourses upon the First Decade of Tito Livius" and "II Principe" meaning "The Prince" had been written between 1513 and 1517 but published in 1531 and 1532 respectively, approximately four years after Machiavelli's death. In 1518, he write a drama "Mandragola" and the "Art of War" in 1521. ("Niccolo (di Bernardo) Machiavelli: 1469-1527," n. d.); (Liukkonen; Pesonen, 2008)

Machiavelli was appointed as the formal historian of Florence in 1520 and was entrusted with the task of writing the official history of Florence by Cardinal Giulio de'Medici. He was also assigned some governmental duties of less significance. Machiavelli finished writing the "Istorie fiorentine" or the "History of Florence" in 1525. This particular work considerably weakened the republican stand that he had taken so far and replaced with a "Medicean bias" which was probably what the existing regime expected of him. His transition did not go unnoticed and he was awarded with a monetary stipend by Pope Clement VII in 1525. However, Machiavelli's fortunes dimmed again when the ruling Medici were ousted once again in 1527 with the revival of the republic. The new government was wary of Machiavelli's relations with the Medici and he was once again sidelined by the government dashing all hopes of a reemergence into public and political life of Florence. Heartbroken and disillusioned by the condition of the state, Niccolo Machiavelli fell seriously ill and died in 1527 without being able to fulfill his dream of participating in an operational republic. (Harris; Lock; Rees, 2000); ("Niccolo (di Bernardo) Machiavelli: 1469-1527," n. d.)

Machiavelli's original intention behind writing "The Prince" may have been to achieve favor in the eyes of the autocratic Medici family. It is believed that Machiavelli deliberately made this piece of work provocative in order to achieve his aim. In this pamphlet, Machiavelli severely criticized writers whose conflicting moral standards led them to glorify great deeds and vilify the cruel but necessary actions required to implement the same great intentions. In this particular piece of work which earned Machiavelli the notoriety of teaching unethical values to princes, Machiavelli rejects the ethical and moral teachings as enshrined in the biblical and classical traditions in favor of a brand new idea of virtue which involves the ability and readiness to act in any manner, ethical or unethical, in order to acquire and preserve what one has managed to acquire. (Harris; Lock; Rees, 2000); (Kemerling, 2006)

One of his most famous statements was that an effective prince should deceitfully pretend to be virtuous and lawful but when the situation demands, should also know how to be vicious, persuasive and ruthless. Machiavelli also put forward the idea that it is possible to have a specific "state reason" which may be radically different from personal morals which emphasize the magnitude of obligation, trust and faith. This inconsistency between personal moral values and political ethics puts forward an extreme discontinuity between the "public political sphere" and the "private social sphere." Machiavelli also believed that one could use any sort of method to retain one's hold on power inside a corrupted political world which did not possess any essential truth. (Torfing, 1999)

The ethical significance of this sort of radical viewpoint is profound and drives home the notion that in this supposedly real-world of politics anything and everything is justifiable in the name of governance. Many of his radical views like "it would be far safer to be feared in comparison to be loved, if a prince is to be unsuccessful in either of the two" and "all unarmed prophets have failed but all armed ones have succeeded in conquering" are cited even today and could find approval by many of the current religious and fundamentalist leaders. His diktats for political maneuvering using duplicity, bad faith and cunning tactics have given rise to the adjective "Machiavellian," which is used even today to denote unethical or immoral political strategies. (Liukkonen; Pesonen, 2008); (Torfing, 1999)

One of his in-depth interpreters has described the central elements of Machiavelli's philosophy as that of "spiritual narrowness"; his lack of spiritual movement subjugated to "a purely political idea; lack of serious moral or religious anxiety; a serious lack of sincere concern for the "meaning of life"; and an obsession for politics and the analysis of political actions and events detached from any ethical values. However, to interpret Machiavelli from this angle only would be to view his thoughts myopically. (Viroli, 1998) This is because the other piece of work that Machiavelli wrote at about the same time, the "Discourses on Livy" showed Machiavelli to be essentially a republican who perceived the state to be an autonomous and secular entity which depended upon mass support and human skills for its survival. According to a few present-day analysts, this particular book unlike "The Prince" is a decent as well as useful book which can serve as a guide for leaders, followers, nation-builders as well as reformers of republics on the ways and means by which freedom can be preserved and corruption avoided. His subsequent piece of work, "The Art of War," which outlined the strategies of statecraft and warfare, served as a source of inspiration to later generations of military thinkers like von Clausewitz, Napoleon and Frederick the Great. (Harris; Lock; Rees, 2000);

As per the Aristotelian-Scholastic philosophy, man, being a rational being, is inclined to achieve the perfect society or the state. Therefore, the positive aspects of the state, especially the morality factor, have to be drawn from this rational nature of man, and not from the reality of the real historic behavior of man. Like every other rational concept, even the concept of morality is an absolute truth which cannot change its nature even if it is disobeyed or violated. For instance, even if we accept the hypothesis that all men lie, the fact remains constant that the rational concept of lying is immoral. However, Machiavelli's philosophy does not hold this principle to be true due to the "immanentist principle" wherein the state has to be "considered in itself" regardless of any truth that may surpass it. (the Radical Academy, 2003)

However, there is a problem with interpreting Machiavelli only in the context of "The Prince" without reading the rest of his works which give a more balanced opinion of his intellect and political thinking. His style of writing is direct and never ceases to interest his readers. Most of what he had written is still readable and relevant in the current context. Many of the present day management gurus and teachers of business ethics, marketing and management still find Machiavelli's writings relevant. Of course, opinions differ on this issue. For example, Joe Badaracco and Jean Lipman-Blumen have advocated what may be termed as "denatured Machiavellian strategies" in their "quiet" and "connective" leadership approaches. This involves concentrating on oneself or on relationships in order to achieve what one wants to; computing how much of political capital is being jeopardized before confronting challenging problems; and exploiting people as well as processes in order to find solutions to group problems. Machiavelli urged his "prince" or an ideal leader to be unscrupulous if it resulted in an achievement of the goals of the state. According to Machiavelli's philosophy, a prince must seem to possess virtuous qualities like humanity, sincerity, or faithfulness but reckoned that it would be dangerous to observe them; however, it would still be useful to pretend to observe them. (Harris; Lock; Rees, 2000); (Raelin, 2003)

Now, one must interpret these dictums in view of the circumstances existing in those times. First of all, "The Prince," which is the main source of controversy regarding Machiavelli's political philosophy never caused any controversy during Machiavelli's lifetime. "The Prince" had been published after the death of Machiavelli; however, it was in wide circulation in manuscript form, even before his death. When it was finally published, Cardinal Reginald Pole strongly criticized it as a work of the devil and spoke of the dangers of it being utilized by unscrupulous rulers to discredit the "Respublica Christiana." The Cardinal also may have had some other motive in mind while denouncing Machiavelli and may have targeted Henry VIII who ran away from England to evade the "Reformation" and possible imprisonment. However, this denouncement resulted in the branding of Machiavelli as a villain and the birth of the "Machiavellian" mythology. All of Machiavelli's writings were condemned and put on the "Papal Index of prohibited books" during the year 1559. (Harris; Lock; Rees, 2000); ("Niccolo (di Bernardo) Machiavelli: 1469-1527," n. d.)

What many critics have not accounted for is the true intent of Machiavelli in separating politics from ethics in those turbulent times in Florentine political atmosphere. They have not tried to find an explanation for the transition of a passionately republican Machiavelli to an advocate of autocracy. Machiavelli, being a seasoned diplomat and public servant, was only too aware of the lurking dangers to Italian autonomy from Spanish and French dominion and realized the necessity of having a strong leader to save the state. Therefore, "The Prince" was not targeted for the general public but was meant as suggestions to the ruling Medici. Machiavelli felt that the immediate dangers that his state faced could be thwarted only by a shrewd leader like Cesare Borgia, whom he had met during his diplomatic days. Machiavelli believed that the common welfare of his people and state could only be resolved by a leader who could channelize his self-interest and leave behind the burden of ethics and morality in order to save the state from impending danger. ("Niccolo (di Bernardo) Machiavelli: 1469-1527," n. d.)