Machiavelli

This controversial statement by Machiavelli is still discussed in philosophical and sociological circles because he implies that a ruler can be cruel, evil and violent when necessary. In other words, a ruler must stand strong against his enemies (internal or external), make himself feared and even be evil when there is anarchy, a prolonged conflict or anything that would be harmful to social peace and order. However, this does not mean that he will be hated, but he should be able to recover the peace and order by showing his power when there is something wrong with the administration of the state. In this way, some people will really fear him, perhaps not love him. As a matter of fact, Machiavelli himself cannot decide“whether it is better to be loved more than feared, or feared more than loved” (The Prince 90), but then he concludes that “with regard to being feared and loved, that men love at their own free will, but fear at the will of the prince, and that a wise prince must rely on what is in his power and not what is in the power of others, and he must only contrive to avoid incurring hatred, as has been explained” (The Prince 91). As indicated in the above statement, a good ruler must have a good character to be loved, but at the same time, he should seem “fearful” so that the enemies will not dare to do harm to his subjects. For example, if someone wants to destroy his country economically, the prince can be aggressive to this person because it will be beneficial to his own country. In other words, if he tries to protect the public from economic harm, then he has a good character as a ruler.

However, Machiavelli appears to be harsh in his statements. Perhaps, it was okay for his time, when monarchies were easily destroyed by their internal and external enemies due to weak rulers, but in our modern times, it is hard to accept such an aggressive ruler. A ruler (in the modern sense) must be liked by his own people and he must avoid violence. In this respect, as I follow from the recent news, I really admire the Prime Minister of Canada, who has a welcoming approach and attitude towards refugees and seems to have established a cabinet involving people from different backgrounds and nationalities. Canada, in general, does not have an aggressive foreign policy either, so in my view, a good ruler should not be aggressive.