Circumstantial

On the whole, Machiavelli’s political theories and strategies were pretty sound advice. It was sound advice for that time period. A little less of it, but still a large part of it, will remain good advice if you believe in a world categorized by warism and the cultural status quo of violence and power. A smaller, yet still existing, section of The Prince can be applied today as sound advice when considering today’s circumstances. I would argue that Machiavelli himself would agree with me. In chapter twenty he writes, “It is impossible to pass definitive judgement on any of these policies until one considers the particular circumstances that existed in the state where the policy was adopted” (Machiavelli 64). Considering today’s circumstances where democracy and ‘natural rights’ are a well known concept and colonial times have long passed, a large portion of the advice, particularly in the beginning of The Prince, is irrelevant. I challenge you to count the number of countries still under rule of an absolute, hereditary monarchy in which a different ruler can overthrow and take power. If the number is limited, I hope we both will agree that chapter one may be deemed irrelevant. Next you can nix any advice over the next couple of chapters involving killing all the heirs to a throne to prevent competition. Unfortunately, the issue of eliminating the competition to one’s right to rule has been complicated after divine right and all of that was exchanged for a, now much more widely adopted, notion of elected officials and representative governments. Although a dictator can prime a favored friend or family member for succession, there is no longer just one family or set of nobles one has to kill to prevent the questioning of their authority. From an American or general democratic perspective, much of the advice having to do with establishing authoritative control throughout The Prince should also no longer be used. Furthermore, Machiavelli’s pessimistic outlook on standing by an ideology as set out on page forty-eight, has also been proven wrong. In his own advice in chapter nine, Machiavelli notes the importance of keeping the populace on your side. There are now historical examples of how fighting and staying true to an ideology can, in fact, keep the populace in support of your government. Take the examples of religious conflict or wars countries have gotten into over ideology. International laws on war and human rights also stand in contrast to the idea that every government will eventually have to do something terrible.  

On a quick side note, which could honestly be its own paper, I would also like to point out that Machiavelli supports a mindset of warism and violence as a norm. For instance, He claims wars should be prevented sometimes with war and that a country that helps another country get power is causing their own destruction (chapter three). Although a culture of violence is still very much alive today, there are more budding movements to alter that mindset, and if they are successful, a lot of Machiavelli's warist principles will no longer be relevant. A country can support another country without the fear that they will use their new power to attack. Perhaps a war can be stopped by other means than preventive violence.  

Now while there are many examples of how, when considering today’s circumstances, the advice in The Prince cannot be applied, there are still tidbits of theory that can still be followed in good conscious. In chapter twenty, Machiavelli basically predicted current debates in the USA over gun control in his sentence, “But if you take their arms away from those who have been armed, you begin to alienate them” (64). Although the circumstances are slightly different, the concept remains to ring true. He also makes good points surrounding stretching oneself too thin and the advantages of being self-dependent. Will a country dependent on oil go to war with the country supplying it if the need arises? What bargaining chips does the oil-dependent country have if the oil supplier begins to bully them? The list of solid and still applicable advice Machiavelli gives is substantial, if not circumstantial. 

The answer of the overall correctness of Machiavelli is the same answer I’d give, if it is not heathenistic to put these two writings in the same sentence, when someone asks me if I believe the Bible is right or wrong. It depends. It depends on the lens you read it through, the time period one applies it to, the various circumstances, and if one can allow that one piece of bad or irrelevant advice, does not deem the whole work wrong.