The History of Political Art of Niccolo Machiavelli

The History of Political Art of Niccolo Machiavelli

The History of Political Art of Niccolo Machiavelli. One of the great political philosophers, Niccolo Machiavelli, once wrote a famous political sentence, namely that leaders are better feared than loved. Machiavelli's political views in his day (even today) are still considered cruel.

But in fact Machiavelli only writes about the facts about the most efficient ways to generate and maintain political power, and these things sometimes have to be done in cruel and immoral ways.

The History of Political Art of Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli himself was born in Florence, Italy, May 3, 1469 - died in Florence, Italy, June 21, 1527 at the age of 58 years. he is actually an Italian diplomat and politician who is also a philosopher.

As a theorist, Machiavelli was a major figure in the reality of political theory, he was highly respected in Europe during the Renaissance.

Two of his famous books, Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio (Discourse on Livio) and Il Principe (The Prince), were originally written as hopes of improving governance in northern Italy, later became controversial books for all. time.

The History of Political Art of Niccolo Machiavelli (source)

What made Niccolo Machiavelli's name famous was Il Principe (The Prince), which was a highly controversial Machiavelli-style leadership manual. This book itself was published in 1513.

This book has received a lot of criticism and criticism from many parties. The reason is that Machiavelli's version of the ideal leader is completely at odds with the ideal leader of most people.

If the people of Florence at that time longed for a leader who was just, honest, wise, kind, humble and generous, then according to Machiavelli, such thinking was wrong.

Machiavelli argues, a prince or leader should ignore moral considerations completely and rely on everything with strength and cunning, because in maintaining power, it takes violence to maintain it if necessary.

It was only in the 19th century that attempts to arouse Machiavelli's thoughts and real hopes began to be made. The figure of an immoral leader that Machiavelli said was a form of his anxiety seeing the condition of Italy at that time.

Italy at that time was still unstable because each of its states was divided into several parts, including Florence, his birthplace.

This is exacerbated because each of these countries competes for control of the territory of the other country. And this was exacerbated by the interference or interference of major countries near Italy, such as France, Germany and Spain.

This chaotic condition inspired Machiavelli as a man born and a former statesman in Italy to formulate recommendations for political methods aimed at Medici, the Italian ruler. From the book Il Principe, Machiavelli suggests that the Medici became a reliable leader with symbols such as: a tiger, as smart as a fox.

The political points of Machiavelli style in the book Il Principe

1. Unity and order must be fought at all costs, and means of violence and slaughter are among the most permissible in this regard. However, if conditions are orderly and united, the leaders should avoid violence and massacres.

2. Leaders must be prepared to face two threats that will make their country unstable. First is the people. As much as possible the leader must protect the feelings of the people. If not, be prepared to face your own people as enemies.

The second song, threats from abroad. To deal with this threat, of course, requires troops. And that army must be a pure army from its own country.

The History of Political Art of Niccolo Machiavelli (source)

3. Machiavelli emphasized above all that what matters most is that a country must be well armed. He argued that only the native soldiers were truly trustworthy.

Meanwhile, if you rely on mercenaries, it can weaken the country and endanger the country. Even if you need to force your people to become soldiers (conscription) it's better than depending on mercenaries from abroad.

4. Machiavelli suggests that leaders should get as much support from the largest population (majority) as possible otherwise they will not have the resources to deal with conflict.

Of course, Machiavelli understands that sometimes a new ruler, to strengthen his power, must do something to secure his power, and this sometimes forces him to do things that are displeasing to his citizens, but must be elected so that the people who are not happy are a minority group.

5. Machiavelli also suggested that in order for his leadership to endure, a leader should be surrounded by capable and loyal ministers.

He strictly forbade leaders to approach sycophants and ask their opinion on what to do. For him, this would lead his leader to take the wrong step.

6. The actions of the authorities cannot be based on the interests of the people. However, it depends on the circumstances and social situation pressure regardless of whether the action is considered good or bad by society. In this case, the ruler can take actions that the people do not like to control the social situation.

7. A leader need not be afraid of criticism that arises because of his cruelty, as long as he can unite and make the people loyal and for the safety of the whole country. According to Machiavelli, a ruler is much more feared by his people than loved.

8. In an effort to uphold his power, a Leaders can take actions that ignore the moral judgment of society, for example, the previous ruling family must all be destroyed to prevent future rebellions.

This must be done by the authorities based on the pressure and demands of the situation in controlling the new territory so that the threat to the territory's power disappears, only then will it attract the sympathy of the people for support.

9. Another way of securing his power in a new territory is that the new Leaders must stay in the area, establish a colony, and deploy troops and infantry in large numbers.

10. The new territory can be ruled by the successor Leaders without rebellion even though the old Leaders has died, provided the government can unite all parties first, and the aristocrats must remain given power in the territory where they are recognized and loved so as not to revolt.

So the duty of the Leaders is to secure the power that is in his hands with the help of the small rulers who are there so that it can survive permanently.

11. The goal of politics is to strengthen and expand power. For this reason, all efforts that can be successful in this end are justified. The legitimacy of power justifies all manipulation techniques so that public support for power remains (including through doctrine, intimidation, propaganda, even violence).

12. In addition, to perpetuate his power a Leaders must have good law and order. The law will not work well without a good army.

13. A wise Leader does not have to keep his word if it will be self-defeating and for no good reason.  A good Leader should never run out of excuses to cover up his tricks to the public and outsiders, and can always look as if he is good.

14. A Leader must also be able to choose efficient ministers, namely ministers who think about and prioritize the affairs of the Leaders and the state rather than the affairs of the people.

Due to the large number of people's affairs, the government does not run efficiently because it is burdened here and there. The Leader must also have a good relationship with his ministers and trust each other in addition to being firm if the minister is treasonous.

15. In addition, the Leaders must be able to get rid of the sycophants and critics who surround him in a subtle way, so as not to cause new conflicts. And as the old saying goes: Wherever wise advice comes, it depends on the wisdom of the Leaders, and the wisdom of the Leaders does not depend on good advice.

The most famous in this book is his writing in chapter 17 or point 7 of the article above, Machiavelli once explained why a prince (leader) is better to be hated than loved.

Machiavelli's opinion:

"A leader must be both feared and loved. However, if he cannot have both, it is better to be feared than loved. This is because love is bound by obligations that make a person selfish, and bonds break when it comes to his best. Fear is driven by anxiety. of punishment that overcomes rebellious or selfish desires. "

A King must behave like a clever fox to detect traps, and like a terrifying lion to scare away wolves. Those who just want to act like lions are stupid.

So that a wise Leaders does not have to keep the promise that it will harm himself. And leaders must keep promises that are only related to political interests, while beyond that all can be ignored, because it will make the government inefficient.

In this regard, Machiavelli said, "A conscientious Leaders must not cling to his beliefs if the work conflicts with his interests." He added, "Because there is no official basis for blaming the Prince who apologizes for not keeping his promise."

Therefore, it is not necessary for a king to possess all of the good qualities mentioned above, but of course he must act as if he does. That is the key to image and absolutism in holding power.

Machiavelli himself is not a bad person, because the book "Il Principle (the prince or king)" itself is actually the result of Machiavelli's honest reportage about human behavior itself.

In history such as emperors, kings, and royal systems around the world to maintain their power by justifying various heinous, cruel, cunning, lies, immorality, murder to war and genocide, immoral, but that is actually what the great kings and rulers of the world experience.

Even Niccolo Machiavelli's last words before he died: "I'd rather go to hell than to heaven. Because in hell I prefer to accompany popes, kings and princes. Whereas if heaven would only meet beggars, priests, hermits and apostles"

For ordinary people, Machiavelli's last sentence seems very arrogant because he prefers to go to hell than heaven, but for those who understand, Niccolo Machiavelli's last sentence above shows that the Leaders, both political and religious Leaders, are actually despicable people who deserve to be go to hell not heaven. By: Ochie

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