Abstract
In their quest of maintaining their country’s independence and preventing domestic political chaos, rulers must display essential qualities, such as foreseeing potential civil unrests, preventing corruption and showing qualities that will inspire their citizens to show dedication to the common good.
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- 1.
As Machiavelli writes in his Discourses: “For as good customs have need of laws to maintain themselves, so laws have need of good customs so as to be observed” (Book 1, Section 18).
- 2.
As Machiavelli writes in his Discourses: “The desires of free peoples are rarely pernicious to freedom because they arise either from being oppressed or from suspicion that they may be oppressed. If these opinions are false, there is for them the remedy of assemblies where some good man gets up who in orating demonstrates to them how they deceive themselves (…)” (Book 1, Section 4).
- 3.
For Machiavelli, the capacity to make reasonable decisions is a shared feature of the people. He writes in his Discourses that “As to judging things, if a people hears two orators who incline to different sides, when they are of equal virtue, very few times does one see it not take up the better opinion, and not persuaded of the truth that it hears” (Book 1, Section 58). And “for a licentious and tumultuous people can be spoken to by a good man, and it can easily be returned to the good way” (Discourses, Book 1, Section 58).
- 4.
Machiavelli writes in his Prince: “A Prince ought also be seen to support people of ability, and to honour the skilled in every art. At the same time he should encourage his citizens to perform their jobs peacefully, both in commerce and agriculture, and in every other field, so that people are not worried about increasing their possessions for fear that they might be taken away from them or about opening up trade for fear of taxes. The Prince ought to offer rewards to whoever wishes to do things like these which may bring honour to his city or state” (Chapter 21).
- 5.
Machiavelli writes about the hierarchical importance of good customs and good laws: “And where something by itself works well without law, the law is not necessary; but when that good custom is lacking, the law immediately becomes necessary” (Book 1, Section 3).
- 6.
For instance, as it is famously recalled by Cicero: “[Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome] divided up among the citizens the land which Romulus had won by conquest, giving each man a share, and showed them that by the cultivation of their farms they could have an abundance of all manner of possessions without resort to pillage or plunder. Thus, he implanted in them a love for peace and tranquility, which enable justice and good faith to flourish most easily, and under whose protection the cultivation of the land and the enjoyment of its products are most secure. (…) and by the introduction of religious ceremonial, through laws which still remain on our records, he quenched the people’s ardour for the warlike life to which they had been accustomed. (…) He also established markets, games, and all sorts of other occasions for the gathering of large numbers. By the institution of such customs as these he turned toward benevolence and kindliness the thoughts of men who had become savage and brutish through their passion for war” (De Republica, Book 2, Section 14).
- 7.
See Machiavelli’s Discourses (Book 1, Section 17).
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Caron, JF. (2019). The Required Virtues of Political Leaders in Democratic Societies. In: The Prince 2.0: Applying Machiavellian Strategy to Contemporary Political Life. The Steppe and Beyond: Studies on Central Asia. Palgrave Pivot, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0353-5_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0353-5_5
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