2nd+Machiavelli+Chapter

Summarize what Machiavelli believes that a prince ought do and why.

In chapter 17, Machiavelli believes that a prince ought to ensure that his subjects fear him rather than love him, because fear will prevent dissent when a prince's fortuna (fortune) is bad. However, a prince also ought to appear to have justifications behind his decisions and never take away personal property, so that his actions will instill fear in his subjects without their dissent. Thus, a prince ought to put fear into his subjects without putting hate for him into their minds

As the commenter above says, a prince must make himself be feared and not loved (although both would be ideal, but impossible). A prince's cruelty against one person will be better for the community in the long run, as opposed to an entire uprising against a prince that is too lenient that will bring total ruin to the community. Machiavelli has a pretty cynical view of humans in that they're all "ungrateful, fickle, liars... fearful of danger and greedy for gain." This may seem harsh, but a prince can't ever let down his guard or else he'll be overthrown. -Veronika Pashkina

Machiavelli believes that since people are generally "fearful" and "greedy", a prince should be feared rather than be loved to maintain their allegiance. People are less likely to disobey someone they fear to avoid punishment or death. To be feared by his people, a prince must rule by cruelty rather than benevolence to keep his subjects in awe of his power. However, cruelty might also be better for his people than mercy because it allows order instead of anarchy. - Choong Hwa Shin

The whole purpose of The Prince is to differentiate between fortuna and virtu, good fortune and the actual virtue of a prince (it was also a job application give or take) Machiavelli is claiming a prince must be feared and loved, however fear is far more important providing it does not involve alienating the people you rule over. It is necessary to create an appearance of order while seeming great, even if contradiction against personal beliefs or previous statements. The thing a prince ought to do is do whatever necessary to create an appearance of order, fear, love, and a good society while increasing his own power over those people

A successful prince must be able to balance everything: cruelty with mercy, love with fear, and confidence with suspicion. A prince must keep everything on his own terms; he must always use caution and reason and never let passion overtake him. This is also why fear is better than love; fear is created on the prince's terms, while love is created at the inclination of his subjects. The prince can also not allow this fear to turn into hate, which as just as dangerous and unstable as love. Cruelty is also an important tool for a prince to use. Cruelty may cause harm to a few people, but it also creates stability. If a prince is too merciful, and therefore weak, then the resulting turbulance causes harm to everybody. Machiavelli believes that being prince is no more than a complex balancing act. -Erin MacDougal

A prince should first and foremost be concerned with establishing "peace and loyalty", even if it causes them to be called cruel. Being loved can sometimes be looked at as being weak, and subjects are not as concerned about doing wrong to a man they love than a man they fear. Being feared is not a bad thing. Should he do this in a justifiable manner, then he shall neither be hated nor loved. This is the perfect balance for a prince. However, when at battle, a prince shouldn't be afraid to be called cruel. - Mary Liu

The main idea that Machiavelli upholds is one of stability among subjects, through fear of consequence rather than through love and admiration. Although he holds a pessimistic opinion on the nature of man in relation to a ruler, Machiavelli makes a good point in that "people are less concerned with offended a man who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared". Why? Because there is a far greater fear of consequence from a ruler who has already shown plenty of reason to fear him and no inclination to make you the single exception to his punishments; thus, rulers who are feared are better heeded and create a more stable environment. And yet, there is a clear distinction made between being feared and being hated - in times of peace, anyway. For Machiavelli states that if a prince encroaches upon his subjects territory/women, then the stability between ruler and subjects-who-obey-because-they-prosper-in-a-steady-society is upset, and there is obviously no more stability. Yet the prince must be cruel in times of war, as that cruelty serves as something the subjects-turned-soldiers can depend on in its constancy. In the end, a good prince must maintain stability among his people at all times, to achieve any result. - Anna Merkoulova