The Prince Blog

One is able to see why Machiavelli is associated with evil. Between the belief that one must step on friends to achieve power and his belief that a Prince must destroy a city to gain a Princedom, it is hard not to see the evil methods of Machiavelli. Although seemingly evil, are Machiavelli's methods that absurd..or just crazy enough to be successful?
One of Machiavelli's most evil point is found on page 12, "The memory of their former freedom will not let them rest; so that the safest course is either to destroy them, or to go and live in them." Machiavelli believes that a Prince must destroy a city to gain power. This is very evil because he is basically saying a Prince must kill a city so he is able to mold it into the Princedom he most desires. In order to gain power, a Prince must totally level a city and rebuild it.
Although his methods seem harsh, Machiavelli does have some points that seem to hold true: "...hereditary States, accustomed to the family of their Prince, are maintained with far less difficulty than new States..." (1). This passage is correct. An example is a family owned business. If "Smuckers" jam has been ran by the Smuckers family for over 100 years and all of the sudden a "Anderson" came to run the business, there are many people who would loose respect for the brand. Just like a Princedom, if a Princedom has been on a bloodline for hundreds of years, the people would question the next family/ruler.
Machiavelli's methods are still in effect to this date. The most obvious is the idea that to gain success one must make enemies and step on friends. Machiavelli writes, "he who is the cause of another's greatness is himself undone" (8). This quote describes the ladder to power, and every person the Prince must step in is a rung. This can be seen often in high school. Many (thankfully not me) students feel the need to "step" on friends who aren't as popular to gain the ultimate popularity. Often, girls especially, will use other girls to gain what they wish: popularity.
Although the methods of Machiavelli seem evil and crazy, these methods have proven in Machiavelli and our times to be effective. Because of the nature of man, these methods will most likely be universal and infinite.