By Any Means Necessary

A detailed Summary of By Any Means Necessary

Since the advent of the socially and politically conscious man, history has witnessed the rise and fall of authoritarian personalities and their virtuous counterparts. The persistence of time has given us a wide spectrum of power-driven leaders and revolutionaries ranging from the anti-violent Mohandas Gandhi to the embarrassing example of the despot that is Adolf Hitler. Although Gandhi and Hitler were not the originators of their respective schools of thought, they remain at the forefront mainly because they practiced their philosophy thoroughly and methodically to the extreme. The contrasting viewpoints in these philosophical ideologies have conceived a debate and question that has raged ever since the first chieftain cracked the whip over the hide of his subject: just how much violence is needed to gain and sustain power and what role, if any, does morality have? To better understand the relationship between power, violence, and morality, a library belonging to an ambitious individual seeking to rule his domain should at least contain Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince.

Niccolo's work was groundbreaking at the time of its inception, which was in 1532, because it brought the term "Machiavellian" into the political lexicon.

So in Niccolo's world, where in Satan's name is morality? Unfortunately, moral values have little to no significance in the realm of political and social power. Machiavelli and his ideal prince are only interested in the final results of achieving and sustaining authority and that would mean to use any mode of violence to attain the wanted ends. As exemplified by the birth of WWII, the prevention of future war and the growth of peace can be reached if violence is used to deter would-be radicals. Currently, the world is not the Florence of Niccolo's time because conquering lands these days would be frowned upon, but this does not necessarily bring the death to the importance of The Prince. Machiavelli's work lives on today as a reminder that evil begets a wicked environment only he would envision.

Machiavelli argues that when the circumstances call for it, princes should assume the role of the fox and lion because he believes that although good faith and integrity are more praiseworthy than craft and deceit, it is the crafty and deceitful princes who have historically defeated the faithful princes. And by being crafty, a prince can break his promise if the situation will work in his favor since others will are likely to break promises with you.

Readers of The Prince are quick to point out the importance of the third chapter because the audience is revealed to the brutal Machiavellian reasoning that has made Niccolo's work so infamous. He introduces many of the principles that will reappear throughout The Prince: the dangers of trusting other powerful individuals, of having enemies and the importance of having friends. For example, he warns the conquering prince to "extinguish" the previous line of rulers, while setting up camp in the new territory to oversee the conquered inhabitants. Simply put, Machiavelli suggests the swift murder of the incumbent ruler and anyone else in line for the throne who would become threatening to an individual's newfound territory and authority. Machiavelli's combination of his realist approach with a vile disregard for the ethical treatment of others is evident when he writes:

Another important chapter in The Prince in context of the balance between violence and ethics would be the eighth chapter, which deals with one of Machiavelli's most famous principles, the issue of dealing cruelties properly. Towards the end of chapter eight, Machiavelli writes:

Many others, using cruel means, were unable even in peaceful times to hold on to their state...I believe that this depends on whether cruelty be well or badly used. Well-used are those cruelties that are carried out in a single stroke done out of necessity to protect oneself, and are not continued but are converted into the greatest possible benefits for the subjects. Badly used are those cruelties which, although being few at the outset, grow with the passing of time instead of disappearing. (The Portable Machiavelli, pg. 106)

With chapter fifteen, Machiavelli defends the acts of ruthles

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Approximate Word count = 2030
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

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