Modern Take on Machiavelli's The Prince

 After reading The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli and then reading the many opinionated articles following the text, I choose to examine Erica Benner's article title "From Machiavelli's Prince: A New Reading". The main idea presented by Benner is the idea that Machiavelli was trying to restore good moral standards in politics or overall ruling. Benner states, "Machiavelli's Prince, I suggest, is a masterwork with ironic writing with a moral purpose" (Benner 300). She explains the two ideas Machiavelli is trying to get across, one being the idea of warning people of power of the danger of asserting total dictatorship over people who value their freedom. Benner then goes into the idea of Machiavelli., teaching ordinary citizens to reconginice the early warning signs of control-hungry behavior in their leaders, and to impress on them the need to establish political and military orders that can keep tyranny at bay" (Benner 301). The overall message I took from this article, involved the idea that The Prince had an overall just and moral purpose when explaining his ideas. 

Statue of Machiavelli  at the Uffizi Gallery 
in Florence, Italy

This article compared to the rest brought on a different perspective I had not considered before nor read in any of the other articles presented at the end of the text. The idea I found the most interesting was, that beneath his basis of ideas, he is simply critiquing the one-man rule of tyranny and imperial politics. Benner seems to be implying the idea that Machiavelli is indirectly telling the people how to look beyond promises that are made by rulers - in order to truly get to the basis of what is being preached. "The Prince induces readers to reflect on whats wrong with these persuasions, and thus arm themselves against their seductions" (Benner 308). I had to go back into the book and re-read with Benner's new perspective in order to understand this different approach to his writing. I found myself beginning to understand what Benner meant the more I read, Machiavelli states, “I will depart from the rules given by others… it seemed to me more suitable to go after the effectual truth of the matter than what people have imagined by it” (Machiavelli 48). This statement falls back to what Benner's theory of Michiavellis deep moral obligations he holds within himself to be the upmost truthful leader. 

The Prince by
Nicolo Machiavelli 

After reading both The Prince and the article by Erica Benner, I found both pieces to be highly influential and educational when reflecting on our current governing system. I believe Machiavelli is worth reading in the 21st century because it truly is a reflection of the different types of governing forces we have in our country. His ideas of being a generous prince versus a powerful or feared prince, seems to - in a general sense - fall back on the idea of being a republican versus a democratic ruler. Machiavelli seems to be comparing the morality of both ways of ruling or governing a group of people. For example he states, "..when generosity employed in such a way as to give you a reputation for it will injure you" (Machiavelli 54). To me, this is his critique or warning of the more democratic side of being too generous because it can lead to ultimately being taken advantage of. Another quote of his that uses the same type of warning states, "A prince must make himself feared in such a way that he avoids hatred even if he does not obtain love, for to be feared and not to be hated can work very well together..." (Machiavelli 53). I believe reading Erica Benner's article is worth giving a read because of the very different approach she takes in regards to our current governing system. After reading her article, it allowed me to go back and consider her approach of the morality behind his writting. I believe her approach provided the best perspective by understanding his warnings to both a "republican" versus "democratic" ruler. 

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                                                                     Works Cited

Benner, E. (2015). Machiavelli's prince: A new reading. Oxford University Press. 

Machiavelli Niccolò, and Wayne A. Rebhorn. The Prince: A Revised Translation, Backgrounds, Interpretations. W.W. Norton & Company, 2020.