Every person in this world desires the power to control everything and this creates differing ways in which one could obtain that power as morality differs between all individuals. Niccolò Machiavelli had experience with the nature of power in his time being an accomplished defense secretary for his nation and had a number of successful diplomatic missions under his name. However, Machiavelli started working with the Medici’s when they regained control of Florence by overpowering the Republicans. This, in turn, sparked the idea that morals simply did not apply in concepts of power. These comprehensive ideologies are conveyed in Niccolò Machiavelli’s polemic ‘The Prince’, which is basically a guide to the methods by which princes or rulers can gain and maintain power, minimizing the importance of morality in gaining power.
Niccolò Machiavelli exposes the idea of “better to be feared than loved” which challenges the stereotypical notions of a good ruler, suggesting that a ruler must maintain peace through “a few exemplary executions” and “avoid using mercy inappropriately”, where the satirical tone makes it more credible for the readers. This idea also challenges the role of morality in power and creates an evil conclusion, as ‘love’ and ‘kindness’ were believed to bring peace, but Machiavelli identifies that ‘fear’ brings control and peace, which seems to lack empathetic understanding. He acknowledges that a prince who honors his word is generally praised by others. But historical experience demonstrates that princes achieve the most success when they are crafty, cunning, and able to trick others. There are two ways of fighting: by law or by force. Laws come naturally to men, while force comes naturally to beasts. In order to succeed, the prince must learn how to fight both with laws and with force—he must become half man and half beast. Niccolò Machiavelli also states that a prince must be a master of deception, through his repeated use of terms synonymous with deceit such as ‘conceal’, ‘deceiver’ and ‘dissimulator’, as most men judge their prince solely on appearance and results. Thus, people do not care that a prince may resort to evil from time to time to achieve his goal. As long as a prince appears virtuous and successfully rules the state, he will be considered virtuous.
Overall, Niccolò Machiavelli challenges the perceptions of evil by acknowledging realpolitik principles and emphasizes the need to dismiss moral principles in order to obtain power.