160 Political Theory: The Relationship of Man and the Statealso seems to be a condition which requires constant reaffirma
tion, while fear, once experienced, has a staying power by virtue
of its own inertia. We tend to give our love easily and easily
withhold it, and probably more easily change from one condition
to the other. Fear once acquired, is hard to change.
The term “Machiavellian” has become synonymous with the
idea that “the ends justify the means.” To the extent that one is
talking about the state and the ruler of the state, the association
is correct. However, the concept of the ends justifying the means
as a postulate of moral philosophy is not so. To Machiavelli, only
the ruler is, and ought to be, above any law, moral law included.
A prince’s only concern is the well-being of the state over which
he rules. A ruler must be judged on the success or failure of his
actions as they apply to the state. If the state benefits, the action
is good; if the state is hurt, the action is bad. He believed that
politics is a science and that its laws are independent of morality.
His conviction that fortune (luck) and necessity, not morality,
controlled men’s lives contributed to his generally pessimistic
outlook about the world.
The Prince is simply a handbook for rulers, the Discourses
less so. But they are also filled with the practical wisdom of
governing. In The Prince Machiavelli, in addition to providing
a “do-it-yourself kit” for governing, sends a message consistent
with his total philosophy. He hoped for the unification of Italy.
His patriotism, his theories of imperialism and militarism, his
deep affection for ancient Rome, touched a sentimental chord in
him. Italy, unified by a resurgent Rome leading the way, seemed
to be one of the final wishes of this “mellowed” old Florentine
farmer.
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
Thomas Hobbes was bom in Malmesbury, England in 1588.
He studied at Magdalen College of Oxford University, but was
not really turned on to learning until after college. During the
thirty years between 1610-1640 he made three trips to Europe to
study, write, and meet with the leading intellectuals of his day.
On his third voyage he met and studied with the foremost Italian
and French scientists, and probably with Galileo himself. He was