6 Pages Posted: 14 Oct 2019 Last revised: 18 May 2020

Date Written: October 1, 2019

Abstract

Few political theorists are as scorned as Niccolò Machiavelli. As an adjective, his surname denotes devilish malevolence; his first name relates to an old nickname for Satan, "Old Nick." Yet criticism of Machiavelli’s view that a ruler must, "if he wants to maintain himself ... learn to be able not to be good," is misguided. It perceives his arguments in ways that ignore (1) the realities of fifteenth-century Italy and (2) his motives. "The Prince" seems considerably less nefarious when one understands its aim: To provide a guide on how to unite Italy’s feuding city-states, thereby reducing internal strife while protecting the peninsula from external powers eager to exploit internal division. Machiavelli was, therefore, no Machiavellian; he simply understood that in order to achieve "what ought to be," a wise ruler must first understand "what is."