Machiavelli and Hobbes 157thinker to distinguish the facts of realpolitic from idealistic
conjecture. His Prince is a handbook for ruling, and was dedi
cated to Lorenzo II in the hope that the Medici family, restored
to power in Florence, would return him to a position in govern
ment.
Ben Franklin is reported to have said, “You get the kind of
government you deserve.” Machiavelli would not only agree
with that statement but would also add that the vast majority of
men, during most periods of history, deserve to be governed by
an iron-handed leader (Prince) to protect them from their own
inadequacies. Most men, unhappily, Machiavelli observes, are
stupid and irrational. All men seek their own self-interest, but
their emotions often lead them in the wrong direction. Human
desires are insatiable: men seek wealth and power, yet are
fearful, envious, and ambitious; they seek security from outside
forces and yet when they are secure, they attack others.
If men were good, then a republic would be the ideal form of
government. Reasonable men, with an understanding of the
nature of the state, the purposes of the state, and the importance
of the state to their own well-being, could create a republic. In
fact, once there was such a republic. It existed in Rome and was
Machiavelli’s ideal state. The Roman Republic succeeded be
cause the people were virtuous, and it was the virtue of the whole
which allowed the republican government to function. But the
fall of Rome, and the reasons for the fall, convinced Machiavelli
that the ideal was beyond realization for any period of time in a
world comprised mostly of dolts. The qualities of courage,
reason, patriotism, along with the value of citizenship, the
family, and a healthy work ethic, brought Rome to its moment of
glory. Only man’s irrational nature could cause him to abandon
the qualities of character which allowed him to reach the ideal.
If the republic is the ideal, the practical reality is the principal
ity. Human nature is, by definition, unchanging, the same in all
societies, and men with all their vices can be restrained only by
the state. The state is the vehicle which creates order out of chaos,
which allows progress among competing entities, which pre
vents factions from destroying one another, and generally allows
for conditions which make life bearable, and in the best of times,
pleasant. The role of the prince is to see to it that the ends of the
state are successfully achieved—at all costs. There are several