Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Machiavelli was not very ncie
One of the most outrageous things Machiavelli wrote was that it is better to be loved than feared. He said that it's easier to keep be loyal to you if they are afraid of you, and that people will not be nearly as hesitant to betray or hurt you if they are your friend or loved one. I completely disagree. People will do amazing and wonderful things for love, but they will only do so much for fear. I believe that men can only handle living in fear and being downtrodden for a limited amount of time, and that there comes a point where they will not tolerate it any longer. Men will cross oceans and die for love, it is a much stronger motivator than fear. Why would you be willing to go through pain and suffering for someone who not only doesn't appreciate your work, but doesn't even like or respect you? I have always found that I work harder for teachers I like, I put up with much more crap from my family than I do from people I don't respect, and I will sacrifice much more for the friends I love than the people who have hurt or frightened me in the past.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you that it is better to be loved than to be feared. I don't think Machiavelli was concerned with the quality of one's rule, but rather, the ability of one to keep his power. I think that's why a lot of people see him as kind of the devil incarnate. He preaches a very self-service doctrine.
ReplyDeleteThis made me think of the scene in The Hunger Games when President Snow is saying that the only thing stronger than fear is hope. I think we see this theme a lot in films and literature and I think the determining factor is loyalty. We are loyal and tied to those we love, but have no underlying connection with people or institutions that only exist to produce fear.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you here. I will do almost anything for the people I love, but if I was afraid of someone I probably wouldn't want to do anything for them. We talked in class about how Machiavelli was saying that it is safer to be feared rather than loved, and I still disagree. I agree with you. I think that it is way safer to be loved because, as you said, people will do amazing and wonderful things for love. Thank you for this. I loved it.
ReplyDeleteyou dont get it....
ReplyDeleteMachiavelli was the founder of Real Politik. he was all about how to gain and maintain power, not live by ideals.
you say you work harder for teachers you respect....but that is only because no teacher has held a gun to your head and threatened to kill one family member (or friend) for every question you missed on the final. i bet you would work harder for them.
people will work much harder out of fear. they will hold on to hope that the situation will turn around, that they can one day live happily with those they love.
however, if someone serves you bc they respect you, the moment yall disagree about policy, they will cease to work with you...especially if it is a big issue, like which family you need to assassinate, or which region you must systemically deprive of food to stop the rebels.
as the NAZIS and USSR found out, you can motivate people indefinitely through fear, but have to constantly reaffirm them if they only work with you through loyalty.
ergo, as Machiavelli said, it is best to be both feared and loved, but if you can only choose one, a prince who is feared will do far better.