A talk With Machiavelli

Machiavelli is the most criticized figure in the history of western political thought. Certainly , because he is one of the most read characters of classical political thought . He is not like a person who makes one silly obscure argument to garner public attention . Rather , his arguments are potent enough to drive attention because of the critical difference of thought they have. If we consider political theorist as one whose theories provide answer to not just his/her time rather remain potent enough to answer the challenges of the times to come , Machiavelli is a perfect philosopher in all ways . 

The ease with which he makes the distinction between a good man and a good politician , the ease with which he justifies corruption as an exercise give us answers to many modern day questions . This Man won't be surprised to see Lalu Yadav doing wonders in politics at the same time doing different scam because he says corruption will fuel in politics , you cannot be a good man if you want to be a good politician. The distinction he makes between politics and ethics is somewhere the harsh reality of political offices. No matter how much we demand or we expect for ethical consideration in every aspect of life , no matter how much we triumph human values and their significance , politics just cannot be guided by ethics . Machiavelli says politics has to have a gap with ethics , ethics prevails in the world of idea and politics is the world of practicality .

However , If we critically evaluate Machiavelli on these values , we can blame Machiavelli for the destruction of the today's political order. He is the reason how the idea of politics being a corrupt exercise got slowly normalised . People began to choose their poltician based on the idea of more bad and less bad politician . He could have also inspired the masses of the time like Marx to throw such corrupt politicians and put ethical consideration in place.  Probably even this idealist thought gets out weighed through Machiavelli's realism. 

To remember a philosopher like him in contemporary times makes even more sense because religion has become the greatest ideology today. Machiavelli was against church and wanted to abolish the idea of an unscientific institution governing human life in a way not conducive for human development . However what makes Machiavelli interesting to read is, when he asks his Prince , the Statesman to use Religion to his greatest advantage . This is where Machiavelli goes to be titled the greatest realist . He says , no matter how bad the institution of church is , A statesman brave like a lion and clever like a fox should know how importantly the vein of religion flows in the blood of people and therefore should know how to pinch it to the greatest advantage of his state.

Machiavelli further explains how religion might not be a very ethical idea in general life but happens to be of utmost importance for a Prince. That is why , Machiavelli's Prince is labelled as the greatest book on Statesmanship. However , Chanakya saying all this in 2nd century through his ' _Saam Daam Dand Bhed_ ' is altogether a different debate on which I would hint more specifically in the article 'Chanakya and his very popular Chanakya Niti' .

This 15th century Florencian Philosopher believed terror as a remarkable way to keep people under check. He therefore advises his Prince to do so . While theoretically he does say that love and terror both are important for a ruler , but what he also believes is the power of terror to make people more loyal for the state . He says fear brings loyalty which love fails to bring . He also advises his Prince to attack in a single blow and kill of the enemy completely . If the Prince leaves the enemy alive , he says the enemy will again build a plot and take the revenge of the infamous last time confrontation . Well , I don't know if Machiavelli had read about Prithviraj Chauhan and Mohammad Gauri battle which made him to write so but his explanation does make us connect how history might have changed its course if Prithviraj Chauhan had treated Gauri the way Machiavelli proposes his Prince to do .

Machiavelli was a child of Renaissance . The times of revival of reason , humanism and end of the dark age of religion in popular discourse. Machiavelli through his empirical understanding of human nature brought a new stage of scientific progress within the discipline of politics. It made Poltical science to develop as a separate subject and no more be a discipline under the subject of religion . He described human nature as fickleminded , coward , greedy and asked the Prince to understand this and accordingly govern the state.

This important development in Political Science led to be the base for the greatest theory of social contract of Hobbes , Locke , Rousseau and Rawls. The pessimist and optimist evaluation of human nature by Hobbes and Rawls respectively draws Inspiration from empirical analysis of Machiavelli .

When we read other political thinkers , we think how wonderful human life would be if these policies are practiced . So might not be the case with Machiavelli . Machiavelli tend to bluntly show us that listen , this is how things are in the society and this is the way to go about with them . That probably , that adds more stars to the theories penned down by Machiavelli . 

Machiavelli comes in contention with Gandhi when he says , in politics , ends justify the means . Gandhi was an ardent follower of principles like ahimsa , toleration which appear to be utopia in politics for someone like Machiavelli . Gandhi propounded the means of satyagraha to bring change in the society , believed that if the means are not just , the ends can never be peaceful . We therefore see , Machiavelli's influence in the principle that governs International Politics . The idea of national interest as the prime objective treats the end of national benefit superior than the idea of moving on a sweet sounding path of superior means to get those . It was US in the World War who knew that Japan was about to surrender but still dropped nuclear bombs to show the USSR that US is the real boss of the world . That strike might not be a good means to establish hegemony but surely was a successful enough end for US to gain dominance during cold war. This is the end which Machiavelli propagates.

Machiavelli suggests republic government as the best way in his book discourses. He says the power with people to choose their representatives makes a state run even better . He believed Church as an institution is a devil for the society which would misguide people , the prince and ultimately lead to a failed state . 

Therefore , it is a blunt reality of the blunt man Machiavelli that even when everyone applies the teachings and values of Machiavelli , no one accepts that he is a Machiavellian . Probably , this blunt man from heaven must be enjoying this situation also and would be boosting his chest for all that he wrote . It is an irony that Machiavelli himself was a failed politician but the truth remains , Machiavelli was the one who studied politics in its entirety , in a way which shall remain to be alive for the times to come and will guide people in becoming politicians in real sense . He will slowly go and whisper in every politicians ear, remember politics is about power , not about ethics and would mark his way back to the haunted square of Florence where he was killed by the 'Politicians' of Madichi family of Florence .