Saturday, January 19, 2008

The Iron Fist Of Machiavelli


I should say that Machiavelli is a genius. Machiavelli said that it is better for the prince to be feared by his people than to be loved, pointing out that man is selfish and deceitful and would only be loyal to his master because he doesn't want to be harmed or punished. Why does he think so negatively with man's nature? Furthermore, if we live in fear with our master, aren't we susceptible into hating him and acting against him?

The idea, "he'd rather be feared than loved", is a good one I think because if the ruler is feared in that way, it is unlikely for his people to disobey the laws. Furthermore, a ruler who is loved by the people must be tolerant of law breakers. What i'm tryin to ponder on right now is: are humans really selfish by nature? When are they selfish and when are they not?

5 comments:

  1. Cheers for your visits Jenny - happy Easter holidays and happy further blogging!

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  2. an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth... very machiavellian. Bertha Maynard

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  3. Humans are humans, can be selfish at times, but can be most compassionate in hard times.

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  4. Sometimes, you have to look at things in a pessimistic point of view in order to see the whole picture. Such as Machiavelli's

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  5. I think man is selfish by nature because we are driven to survive. We may say that we think first of others before we think of ourselves but at the back of our minds, self-preservation is the primary concern.

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