I first studied Machiavelli when I was a sophomore in high school. The expression on Machiavelli's face right up there is a pretty good representation of how I felt about it. Reading The Prince was pretty much akin to torture in my sixteen year old mind. I kept thinking--"Boring guy, boring topic. Let's move on."
Machiavelli was immortalized by his idea that when it comes to being a leader, "It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot have both." In his blogpost, Spencer M argues the point that:
"Machiavelli believed that leaders should do whatever is necessary to accomplish political or leadership driven tasks." This may be what some may interpret from what Machiavelli said, but I don't think that was his point.When Machiavelli said it is better to be feared than loved, he added--"if you cannot have both." I think this last statement is incredibly important. Machiavelli was not suggesting that a prince should be a liar and a conniving politician, but rather that he should not be afraid to enforce his rule IF he had to. I don't think that Machiavelli was supporting tyrants and dictators, but rather a firm hand when it came to ruling. He obviously preferred a combination of love and fear for a leader. Machiavelli did not call for blood and horror, but for leaders with a backbone. I think that too often when we read his famous words, we assume the worst, that Machiavelli was an advocate for leaders who ruled with menace and vengeance.
I believe that the ideas that Machiavelli purported in The Prince had a great impact on how Europeans looked at their leaders. The Renaissance was a time of change and growth. While what Machiavelli suggested wasn't exactly radical, it was revolutionary in the sense that it continues to affect how we judge and perceive leaders, even today.
