Machiavelli
...ave thought it proper," Machiavelli writes of a prince's conduct toward his subjects, "to represent things as they are in a real truth, rather than as they are imagined". In his political calculations Machiavelli makes a clear distinction between him and his predecessors. In Machiavelli’s eyes not just anyone could be a successful prince it took certain qualities and characteristics. In judging the success of a prince Machiavelli believed that a prince should only be judged by what he had accomplished at the time of his death. If the prince had created a safe and stable state that would prosper for centuries to come then he was successful as a prince. But if control was lost shortly after the prince’s death then he had done it all for nothing. Machiavelli makes note of the fall of Rome. In “The Prince” this safe and stable state would be the making of a kingdom and the crafting of a republic in the “Discourses”. The welfare does not depend on a king who governs well during his lifetime but one who maintains and lays the path for kings to come. The nations security should be the ultimate goal of the prince. A founder according to Machiavelli is someone who founds something that endures. In “The Prince” it is one who restores order to a chaotic world. A founder can also be seen as one who lays the path for the founding of a republic. Machiavelli thinks a prince should be concerned about how the common people feel. Machiavelli said “The main foundations of every state, new states as well as ancient or composite ones, are good laws and good arms ... you cannot have good laws without good arms, and where there are good arms, good laws inevitably follow.” The voice of common people is very powerful and should be taken into consideration when practicing politics. Above all, the people honor those that found something that endures and a prince should strive to be one that the people honor. He believes that in the end a founder can make himself unnecessary if he has taken the proper steps to make sure what he has founded will endure. In finding the right prince Machiavelli believed that the prince must possess certain characteristics. One quality Machiavelli felt a righteous prince should have is the ability to separate politics from moral concerns. Machiavelli deemed that the only place a moral life was possible was in the safe and stable state that a prince endeavored to create. Although getting to that point meant disregarding moral consent when it came to politics and obtaining the goal of the prince. The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous. Machiavelli makes it clear that there is violence that comes out of politics. If you are to think of politics, then violence is inevitable and with the violence comes moral dilemma. Machiavelli would agree that in certain situations these evils are necessary and that there is no moral resolution. He concludes by never trying to justify these evils as morally right, but that sometimes evils need to be done for the wellbeing of the state. Some interpret this, as saying Machiavelli had no moral constraints. Others argued that Machiavelli did have a concept of morals, he just didn’t feel actions of a government should be judged by moral dilemmas. In treating politics as an instrument you have to agree that an instrument can not have morals. Machiavelli believed politics was an instrument that a prince used in the devising of his kingdom. Arguing that politics are above moral evaluation and setting the position for the political calcu...