Man, this is a book that really needs to be paired with an explainer, or you will miss the subtext and come across the exact opposite conclusions: The Prince is a _satire_, a gift to the Medici family that arrested, tortured and exiled him. Everything it praises should be avoided, especially the hypocrisy and corruption of Italy. It dwells on the virtue of a guy who was appointed to lead the papal armies after his dad(!) was elected Pope. It should be obvious its not a straight book by the time you get to the part where it recommends nobles arm the populace, but we see countless "Machiavelli for the boardroom" books that didn't quite pick that up.
It was published posthumously, but was banned by the Church. Ostensibly because it recommended nobles behave awfully while pretending to be pious, but more likely because it pointed out the church was corrupt and its patrons more so.
Sorry to answer this late, I saw your comment just now.
But I have to completely disagree with your view. The reason I recommend "The Prince" is, because Machiavelli confronts the reader with what actually happens in the real world and not what people think is morally acceptable.
This whole book is rational. It asks you what you want to achieve (or conquer) and gives you a guide on how to achieve it. Without any illusions of moral and what else human kind "invents" to prevent them from achieving certain goals (or prevent them from doing the necessary).
Machiavelli ignores, on purpose, what we call "good" and "bad". He focuses solely on what is purposeful in a given context, which is what I love so much about it.
jldugger|4 years ago
It was published posthumously, but was banned by the Church. Ostensibly because it recommended nobles behave awfully while pretending to be pious, but more likely because it pointed out the church was corrupt and its patrons more so.
benjaminsuch|4 years ago
But I have to completely disagree with your view. The reason I recommend "The Prince" is, because Machiavelli confronts the reader with what actually happens in the real world and not what people think is morally acceptable.
This whole book is rational. It asks you what you want to achieve (or conquer) and gives you a guide on how to achieve it. Without any illusions of moral and what else human kind "invents" to prevent them from achieving certain goals (or prevent them from doing the necessary).
Machiavelli ignores, on purpose, what we call "good" and "bad". He focuses solely on what is purposeful in a given context, which is what I love so much about it.