Machiavelli and Hobbes: political philosophy comparison

Politics

MACHIAVELLI and HOBBES

Thomas Hobbes and Machiavelli gave us some highly acclaimed philosophical works, which contain their views on every subject connected with politics, government and rights of citizens. We need to understand that we may not always agree with their views because of the fact that they wrote in times starkly different from ours, but we can study them to broaden our outlook and to develop a more reasonable approach to various issues. Thomas Hobbes was positively influenced by Machiavelli in his views on politics and government. Machiavelli in his book the Prince focused on factors such as fear and force when describing the attributes that he felt a ruler must possess in order to rule effectively. He was of the view that a ruler who is capable of creating fear by any means should be treated with respect and he is the right person to run the country. The prince or a new ruler according to Machiavelli must be someone who can command respect through the use of force and who can make effective use of his human and beast attributes. They feel that there are some important attributes which make a ruler strong and worthy of our respect and thus he should be rejected only if he doesn't possess the right attributes. The first most important attribute according to Machiavelli is the ability of the ruler to generate fear. If the new ruler has been able to create fear among the leaders of the world, then there is a chance that he would resort to force and all cruel tactics to stay in the captured land. Machiavelli maintains that a ruler is worthy of our respect and loyalty if he is capable of making use of his human and beast attributes. A new ruler who is able to command respect whether through the use of force or otherwise need not be rejected because he is likely to prove more beneficial for the country than the weak leader he overthrew.

The one very important thing to remember is that a new ruler must be accepted on certain conditions- the most important being that he should be just and fair in his dealings with the citizens of the captured country. This means that even if other leaders of the world fear him, the citizens should only consider him a strong fair ruler who is worthy of their respect. This is the only way he is likely to rule for a long time in that country. The first rule given by Machiavelli is worth pondering. He says that a ruler should never touch the property of others, he writes:

what makes him hated above all else is being rapacious and a usurper of the property and the women of his subjects; he must refrain from this; and in most cases, so long as you do not deprive them of either their property or their honour, the majority of men live happily; and you have only to deal with the ambition of a few, who can be restrained without difficulty and by many means. What makes him despised is being considered changeable, frivolous, effeminate, cowardly, irresolute; from these qualities a prince must guard himself as if from a reef, and he must strive to make everyone recognize in his actions greatness, spirit, dignity, and strength; and concerning the private affairs of his subjects, he must insist that his decision be irrevocable; and he should maintain himself in such a way that no man could imagine that he can deceive or cheat him." (Prince: 61)

The second important thing to focus on is the military strength of that person. Does the ruler possess greater military might than the displaced ruler? If yes, then there is no point in rejecting him as the new ruler. This is because with his military weapons, he is likely to prove valuable to the country in the long run. Michaela's views on the art of war and possession of arms make it clear that a well-armed ruler deserves our respect because he can be relied on in difficult times

Liberty is an important concept in this connection. Liberty is the collection of various rights, which must be safeguarded at all costs, or else the public will reject the new ruler. It is thus important to remember that even when the people of a country give up their freedom because of fear of the new ruler, the ruler himself is required to safeguard the rights of his new subjects. This is the only way he can stay in power for a long time without arousing internal conflicts. Hobbes presents his views in this connection, "The Greatest of humane Powers, is that which is compounded of the Powers of most men, united by consent, in one person, Naturall, or Civill, that has the use of all their Powers depending on his will; such as is the Power of a Commonwealth: Or depending on the wills of each particular; such as is the Power of a Faction, or of divers factions leagued. Therefore to have servants, is Power; to have friends, is Power: for they are strengths united." (Leviathan: p. 54) This is what Hobbes believed were some of the attributes that a ruler should possess.