Machiavelli - People in Power Do Not Want to Easily Lose Power

Just like Machiavelli emphasizes in The Prince, that a ruler must act beast-like and not follow his word when it causes a disadvantage. Yes, I believe that taking control in any manner, whether it is with the wrong intent, can be very effective, in getting people to listen to whatever it is you want them to listen to. With such power comes the authority for any ruler to make sure he does anything to keep his power even if he has to break a promise he once made, in order to benefit himself. It is known that those who once ruled before, even, the good ones, had their downfalls. People in power, do not want to easily lose power therefore, they have a specific mindset, in which they will not hesitate to do anything that can somehow lead to keeping or earning power. That is exactly why so many rulers have ruled for many years. With that being said, I will be explaining how power is necessarily sustained when a ruler decides to force or use violence in order to have his people follow him, along with the idea that sometimes going against something you said can lead to an advantage.

The idea of sustaining power can overcome anyone, but knowing how to keep it is a harder concept. Cornell and Malcolmson focus on the idea of being a leader and how Machiavelli had a certain type of leadership. They explain his thought process of how to sustain power and what characteristics a good leader should obtain. Cornell and Malcolmson state that Machiavelli falls into the leadership of three different views. One is an old fashioned one, meaning a teacher of politics, another a founder of politics and modern science, being the difference of what is vs what ought to be, and lastly a Renaissance humanist, meaning to focus on building a foundation on the people. They go into depth to explore each view and come to a realization that all is mainly focused on doing whatever it takes to keep him in power. For instance, on the view of him being a Renaissance humanist, Machiavelli focuses on winning over the people and therefore that will guarantee him his power. Supporters are the platform for holding up the leader. Without them, leaders will be nothing. There will be nobody to vote or support someone to even trust them to rule over their community. Machiavelli states that “ with his spirit and his orders, keeps the generality of people inspired, he will never find himself deceived by them and he will see he has laid his foundations well”. Meaning, his way of keeping power is to satisfy the people. In The Prince, Machiavelli states, “ a prince who wants to keep the state is often forced to be not good”. With that being said, he basically explains that to keep his power he must understand that he will have to be harsh at some point as well. Not only will satisfying what the people want, gain their attention, but force will also be needed.

Keeping your word as a leader can either make or break the support system one has that is considered the backbone of their success. A ruler can have all the support of their followers when they make sure they give them what they want, but he/she can instantly lose it when they go back on a promise they made. It is basically over for a ruler when they lose their followers. They have nobody that can have their back and nobody for him to lead. In his article of Machiavelli’s relation to violence, Minter further explains how Machiavelli uses violence in order to protect himself and the community. Which basically means using violence to ensure that people still follow his leadership. He continues to explore Machiavelli’s use of violence and how it is only to be used if there is any form of advantage or to protect others, including how not all violence is physical, but if there is no other choice, then physical violence is the next option. Leaders before have always used violence over anything in order to make sure nobody went against them or tried to hurt them. Minter (1992) quotes Machiavelli’s assertion that “it is better to be feared than loved”. Simply meaning that being loved can have its consequences whereas being feared can mean keeping a guard up. Not only does that assertion highlight the direction of Minter’s review, but he additionally includes Machiavelli’s quotes from “The Prince” that explain his motives of using combat and how it is better to be the first to basically jump that gun before someone else does. Expecting the unexpected is the best tactic for any ruler. His motives that were described in the article weren’t to always want to pursue violence, it was to use it when it is needed. For instance, when supporters try to go against you or try to relieve you as a ruler, then there is no other choice than to use violence to have them fear their leader. With all honesty, any person with some type of power will do whatever it takes to keep their position especially if that promise they break leads to such a disadvantage. To a ruler losing power is not an option.

With that being said, many rulers have been known for the sinister acts they have committed to staying in power, but being honest, creating fear within their people can bring them, loyal followers. As I said, a ruler must act beast-like and not follow his word when it somehow causes them to bring their guard down. Like Machiavelli says, “ So it follows that a prudent ruler cannot, and must not, honor his word when it places him at a disadvantage.” For any leader to relinquish power, is not an option. They will not hesitate to use violence as well. They will break any promise and use force at any time to sustain that power and keep the support system they have as tight as possible. That is what a leader id willing to do for power.