What was the most outrageous statement/idea that Machiavelli wrote? Was he right? Why or why not? Taking the same statement, would Machiavelli's philosphy apply today? Why or why not?
While I was reading Machiavelli's The Prince, I was struck by the level of satire in the book. From what I had heard of the book, I expected it to be serious in its outrageous claims, but instead I felt like Machiavelli was making all those outrageous claims to support the opposite of what he was saying. I am convinced that the majority of his work was intended to be satirical, not to be taken seriously.
One of the phrases that jumped out at me most was "...it is perfectly possible to be feared and not hated...." (page 46). The phrase was in context of how a people should feel about their Prince, and how crucial it is for a Prince to maintain rule by inspiring fear in the people while still being loved.
This idea was meant to appear completely ridiculous. Love and fear cannot exist in the same place, because the two are totally opposite. There is a way to maintain order and respect without involving fear. True loyalty is always motivated by love rather than fear. This would not have worked efficiently in Machiavelli's day, nor does it work in our day. We can look at a variety of systems of government throughout the world in the last few centuries, and see that the ones that were/are most successful had citizens motivated by a love for their country rather than a fear of government. Oppression, as well as militaristic rule, leaves citizens in fear of their lives and freedom. Countries with governments such as these have most often been toppled from within, by citizens who were so afraid of losing their rights or so tired of not having rights that they rose up and completely disintegrated their leaders, often violently.
