The Prince is definitely one of the most notorious books of all time; however, the bulk of it comes from the fact that Machiavelli himself is horribly, horribly misunderstood. In fact, alongside Nietzsche, probably the most misunderstood philosopher throughout history. Also, what both of these men have in common is the fact that they’re often cited and called upon by those people who often understand them the least.
With all of this in mind and in order to offer some clarification on what the Italian author actually said – and meant – here are the top four lessons that the majority of people either missed or misunderstood.
e said that the end justifies the means, what he really meant was getting to this end goal with minimal carnage.
Through his political understanding of the world, a bad deed is justified if it prevents something worse. A kind but weak ruler is, therefore, a bad ruler since the end result will, inevitably, be less-than-appetising for the majority of their subjects. This is the so-called Utilitarian approach to ethics, and, controversial as it may sound, it’s all but unethical.
You see, a ruler who is too soft on enforcing the laws will inevitably cause lawlessness. In this scenario, the strong prey on the weak (Social Darwinism of the most extreme kind). A weak ruler will also bend to the will of whoever whispers in their ear at that particular moment.
In other words, no, Machiavelli didn’t advise you to be an absolute menace and backstab people for no reason. When he said that the end justifies the means, he didn’t focus on the means; he focused on the end – the “good” outcome.
1. Small insults are the worst thing you could ever do
Machiavelli states several times that the best way to get what you want is without fighting (the same thing Sun Tzu advises in The Art of War). However, Machiavelli also claims that, in order to win – when fighting is inevitable – you need to strike first and strike so hard that there can be no chance of retaliation.
The example that he gives is that a person will sooner forgive the murder of their father than the appropriation of his inheritance. Here, he doesn’t just insinuate that the enemy is just greedy or insensitive but that if you do them harm and in no way damage their ability to retaliate, they’ll use the first opportunity they’ve got for revenge.
Small insults are, therefore, just infuriating and irritating to the other party. If they go on for long enough or accidentally strike a nerve, their response will be disproportionately harsh.
Just think about it, if you have a colleague you dislike fired, you don’t have to see them in the office ever again. After a while, they’ll lose touch with the rest of the team, and they will no longer be “in the system,” which will mostly rob them of the opportunity to get back at you professionally. At the same time, if you just badmouth them or insult them, you’re opening a can of worms.
A historical example of this would be The Boston Tea Party, a spark that ignited the flame of the American Revolution. No, it wasn’t a massacre or a massive reprisal; it was a slight increase in tariffs. The outcome was exactly what Machiavelli would have predicted.
2. Be careful with your own funds
Machiavelli describes the predicament of rulers not knowing how they should spend their own money. On the one hand, if they spend too much, they’ll go broke, but if they avoid spending at all, they’ll be seen as cheap.
His solution is simple: you should be frugal when spending your own money and generous when spending someone else’s funds. In other words, when using company resources, you can feel free to take a risk, but when your own finances are in question, you might want to be a bit more cautious.
Is this an ethical thing to do? Well, it depends on your point of view. Sure, you can look at corporate funds as if they were your own, but what happens in a year when you change companies or lines of work?
Not only that, but when given command of corporate resources, some losses are always expected, and, most of the time, if things go wrong, you won’t be held accountable as long as you had a good original cause. At the same time, if things go right, and they can go very much in your favor, you could end up being responsible for this massive success.
That isn’t to say that you should never risk your own money, just that you shouldn’t spend it recklessly. Finding the best cryptocurrency to invest in and going for it can give great long-term results. Spending recklessly on luxuries and vanity items won’t. It’s as simple as that.
3. It’s better to focus on things that you can actually control
No, Machiavelli is not suggesting that you need to rule by fear. Other than that quote about the end justifying the means, the most famous citation from the book is about how it’s better to be feared than loved.
This, too, is often misinterpreted.
All that Machiavelli is saying is that people can stop loving you, but they won’t stop fearing you unless you give them a reason to. Both stoics and Christian pastors spoke about the importance of differentiating between things you can affect and things that are out of your control. They advised focusing on those things that are in your power and accepting everything that is under the jurisdiction of the higher power.
This is basically the same thing that Machiavelli is suggesting.
The main reason why this is so controversial is because it touches upon the topic of love and interpersonal relationships in general. Still, if you’re completely honest with yourself, you know what Machiavelli is saying to be empirically true.
However, try to remember your best friend from high school. Imagine if your current job, relationship, or your biggest investment depended on the affection that they still have for you or a sacrifice they’re willing to make for you. How certain are you exactly of your success right now? In other words, no matter how wrong this sounds or how hard some people tried to vilify him, it’s clear that he was right. It’s also clear he didn’t mean anything nefarious – it’s just life.
Each of these lessons is applicable to your everyday life
The last thing you need to understand is that even if you’re not a ruler of your own country or municipality, each of these lessons has a real-life application.
- Doing something bad in order to get a good outcome can come down to something as simple as telling a white lie.
- Offending people unnecessarily is not just pointless but harmful. So, go to war only when you deem absolutely necessary.
- Be very careful when dealing with money, especially when it’s your own money.
- Lastly, try to build important things on factors that you control. This is a test that too many people have failed.
In other words, not only are these tips applicable, but they might also be useful on a daily basis.
