Is Machiavelli Still Relevant Today?

The strategies advocated by Niccolò Machiavelli need not only apply to rulers, political affairs and
war. There is at the bottom of all success, a way by which it is seized and maintained, either by that of
our own hands, or that of chance. Understood broadly, it is these central themes that occur within
‘The Prince’ that I wish to discuss, namely, ‘Virtue’ which I will describe generally as ability or
prowess, and ‘Fortune’, characterised by luck or chance. I will show how these ideas and
Machiavelli’s view of human nature are just as relevant today as they were five hundred years ago,
and how they apply to the everyday as well as the magnificent.

To begin, I will look at the claim that people should rely on virtue, above that of others or fortune.
Machiavelli describes the Romans as exemplars of virtue, never stalling in order to eschew war,
because war ‘cannot be avoided’, only put off to the advantage of others (Machiavelli, 2008, p.12).
And what we take him to mean here is that when you wait for something to come upon you through
fortune, the remedy may be too late, since your movements are constrained if you are cornered.
Acting quickly, not deliberating, ensures the best chance of success, which he likens to a consumptive
illness recognised promptly and therefore easier to cure (Machiavelli, 2008, p.12). This may just as
readily correspond to the effects of procrastination and delay through laziness. People put off what
they do not see as an immediate benefit or are unmotivated for. The only way to secure what is on
offer in the present, is to move upon it swiftly, because ‘time brings with it all things’, both the good
and the bad (Machiavelli, 2008, p.13).

Machiavelli’s view of human nature surely has an abundance of explanatory power when considering
virtue and fortune, because people are predictable (Machiavelli, 2008). To be successful today, as
then, a leader, business owner, military commander, or even salesman must know the nature of their
target or audience. People, Machiavelli says, are ‘fickle, simulators and deceivers, avoiders of danger,
and greedy for gain’, they may be corrupted easily and change their allegiance as it suits them
(Machiavelli, 2008, p58). And in all avenues throughout history exist those who would benefit
themselves whilst your hands are turned to other tasks. This is true, as when times are hard, people
look out for themselves. Even in times of prosperity people are still greedy and not satisfied with their
share. In considering this, one can never look to others or fortune to maintain their position because
people are predictably self-orientated. Those who you depend on will not come to your aid when they
are infatuated with their own interests, and likewise waiting for good luck will ruin you when it does
not show. It need not require an army to take away your success, only those you depend on, or a twist
of chance. Therefore, those who rely less on fortune have the optimal stance (Machiavelli, 2008, 21).
What he further recommends, in acquiring and preserving success, is that people should fear you, or
fear your power (Machiavelli, 2008, p.58). A wise employer does not wince when his employee talks
down to him, as this would remove any fear of punishment from his employees and forfeit his
position of power. To clarify this Machiavelli says virtue is knowing how to be ‘the fox and the lion’,
namely the cunning to see threat arise and the power to instil fear. This is true of any business strategy
that succeeds above others, because people take advantage of the kind employer, they don’t when they
fear him, nor if he sees the plots of others before they reach fruition.

Machiavelli recognises that people may achieve success through different means, he says the person
who adapts to the nature of the times will prosper, and we can take him to mean that someone of great
virtue is flexible (Machiavelli, 2008, p.85). What good is it to possess great prowess in only selective
conditions, for we know that with fortune comes unforeseen events. For every person now, as in
Machiavelli’s time, the day is full of change, both welcome and unwelcome. The person who is
unprepared for those unforeseen consequences is less likely to move in accordance with them when
they arise. So, it may be seen that virtue is also one’s capacity to act with fortune rather than against
it, to be ready, since it cannot be stopped. He describes fortune as a destructive river, ‘everyone yields
to its impetus’, and though it is futile to oppose, those with virtue are best placed to defend themselves
as they have constructed ‘dikes and damns’ whilst the weather was calm (Machiavelli, 2008, p.84).
Here the metaphor is clear, tomorrow may bring misfortune, and if you do not have the means to deal
with it when it arises, then it will take what you cannot defend. If someone’s reputation is based solely
on the good word of others and not of his own virtue, then, when the time comes that his friends or
colleagues decide it no longer necessary to support him, his reputation crumbles, since he has earned
his position through the favour of others, not through prowess.

It may be said, that whilst renaissance architects were not as advanced, or tools as technologically
supreme, what was wrought and built then must also be today, and all foundations are either solid or
weak. Machiavelli says that for things that are born and grow rapidly, they get wiped out as soon as
the first bad weather, as they do not yet have roots or branches (Machiavelli, 2008, p.24). So too do
rushed designs with fast and cheap labour. This is evident today in the following words, ‘made in
china’, as the beneficiary of a novelty device exclaims when it breaks suddenly.

So where should we look today, how do we secure virtue? Machiavelli advises us to look to history,
at the exemplars of virtue who wielded fortune as opportunity. Because people will almost always
follow in other’s footsteps (Machiavelli, 2008, p.20-21). From this can be inferred, at least in part,
that we can look to some of the timeless advice within his book, The Prince. What makes
Machiavelli’s work so contemporary is the applicability of his words irrespective of time and place.
The landscape may have changed, this he would acknowledge, but human nature does not. Therefore,
the narrative of success and power is often one with recursive premises.
Word Count: 1092

Bibliography

Machiavelli, N (2008) The Prince. Oxford: Oxford University Press.