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Machiavelli's notion of virtue

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to expand the boundaries of our knowledge by exploring some relevant facts and figures related to “The Prince" written by Machiavelli. In this paper, the author will take the reference from “Classics of Moral and Political Theory" edited by Michael L. Morgan. The fifth edition of Michael L Morgan's Classics of Moral & Political Theory broadens the scope and increases the versatility of this landmark anthology by offering new selections from Aristotle's Politics, Aquinas' Disputed Questions on Virtue & Treatise on Law, as well as the entirety of Locke's Letter Concerning Toleration, Kant's to Perpetual Peace, and Nietzsche's On the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life (Morgan, p.12). In this paper, the author will focus on the work of Niccolò Machiavelli.

Discussion & Analysis

The Prince

The Prince, or Il Principe, was written in 1513-14, against a backdrop of 16th-century Italian intrigue, strife, and political upheaval. Machiavelli had been a casualty of this upheaval when the republican government of Florence in which he had been a civil servant, chiefly in the diplomatic corps, fell and the Medici family returned to power. (Three generations of Medicis had ruled prior to the formation of the republican government in 1494.)

Machiavelli's purpose in this treatise on politics, at least on the surface, is to offer advice on successful governance, including gaining and maintaining control of territories. Ultimately, he wanted a "strong state, capable of imposing its authority on a hopelessly divided Italy" and the expulsion of foreign powers. Underlying his analysis is a basic tenet: "the real truth of things rather than an imaginary view of them," favoring political realism and rejecting idealist views of human behavior, including rulers and the ruled, with regard to political practice and response. In this context of politics, Machiavelli subordinated morals to political expediency (Morgan, p.158).

Having minimized the problems of princes of hereditary states in maintaining control of their territory, "it is simply a matter of not upsetting ancient customs, and of adjusting them instead to meet new circumstances," for the people have grown accustomed to their prince's family—Machiavelli turns his attention to the greater difficulties of "mixed principalities," that is, a new territory grafted onto the old states, and of new states. These difficulties increase when the language, customs, and laws of the new possession differ from those of the conquering prince.

One of the chief difficulties is the conquered, some of whom may have welcomed the opportunity to change masters but are fickle in their friendship when they discover that their expectations of bettering their lives have not been borne out. Additionally, those who have been harmed in the power seizure become enemies. Machiavelli recommends extinguishing the family line of the previous prince but maintaining the old way of life and customs, laws and taxes, thus earning the good will of the people, so as to incorporate the new territory into the old in the shortest possible time (Morgan, p.356).

For new possessions, Machiavelli recommends that ...