Machiavelli and Human Freedom

Machiavelli and Human Freedom

Machiavelli feels human freedom should be limited but to an extent.   In The Prince, Machiavelli outlines the fact that the ruling Prince should be an authority figure who serves his own interests.   By serving his own interest he is securing his rule over the people without too much resistant.   At some points in Machiavelli’s ‘guidebook’ he seemed pretty harsh but considering the political instability during the time period sheds light on the motivation behind the work.

Machiavelli did not trust people and states that, “…in time of adversity, when the state is in need of its citizens there are few to be found” (The Prince).   Furthermore he questions the loyalty of the citizens and writes that men are creatures not to be trusted to keep their word so you, as their leader, need to keep yours.   However, Machiavelli cautions not to mistreat the citizens because they will most likely turn on you.   This shows he had no confidence in human nature and thus worked to limit human freedom.

Italy was in political turmoil and need a leader who had complete control over Italy’s citizens.   He wanted the prince to be able to govern without any constraints.   His distrust partly stemmed from his reasoning that people work only for their own best interests.   They have no obligation to the state itself.   For this reason, a Prince should always pick advisors that were truthful and did not always try to please him because it would ultimately lead to his downfall.   In comparison, other intellectuals, such as Hobbes, had much more faith in people and believed that people generally had good intentions.   While, Machiavellian ideas were considered forward thinking for his time by modern day politicians, most humanists were not in agreement.