as your interest requires of you.(18)
Politicians who follow Machiavelli believe that moral rules are
not binding on them. They reject moral considerations as irrelevant
to political affairs. Even in the present age there are many
enthusiastic followers of Machiavelli. John F. Kennedy (in his book,
Profiles In Courage, 1963) quotes Frank Kant, saying:
Probably the most important single accomplishment for the political
ambitious is the fine art of seeming to say something without doing so
...... The important thing is not to be on the right side of the current
issue but on the popular side ..... regardless of your own conviction or
of the facts. The business of getting the votes is a severely practical one
into which matters of morality, of right and wrong, would not be
allowed to intrude (p. 8).
Kennedy continues:
But this is no real problem, someone will say. Always do what is right,
regardless of whether it is popular. Ignore the pressure, the temptation,
the false compromises. That is an easy answer – but it is easy only for
those who do not bear the responsibilities of elected office (p. 11 ).
Machiavelli's views cannot , therefore, be dismissed as obsolete.
IX. Western ThinkersNo social group is free from inner conflicts. The main source of
all conflicts is the clash of interest among the members of the same
group or between different groups. No political system has, so far,
been devised that eliminates internal conflict. Democracy is no
exception. It has even intensified internal stresses and in the
international sphere has given an impetus to power politics.
Nevertheless, modern thinkers have not lost faith in democracy and
believe that its defects are not irremediable. Let us see what
remedies they have suggested.
Democracy is based on two fundamental suppositions. The first
supposition is that sovereignty is vested in the people and the
second is that decisions arrived at by majority vote are always right.
Prof. Cobban's remarks on the basis of democracy are worthy of
careful consideration:
The traditional justification for the sovereignty of the people is that
the government must be founded on either force or consent, and that
since force cannot make right, rightful government must be based on
Political System 222