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Unit 5: Niccolo Machiavelli

Unlike Rousseau, Machiavelli made moral degradation and civic corruption the starting point of Notes
his analysis, and looked into factors that fostered public spirit overriding private interests. He saw
a definite link between political psychology and political institutions. In the third Discourses,
Machiavelli declared wealth without worth as a cause of corruption. He extolled the virtue of
poverty over wealth, for simplicity of lifestyle brought honour to cities. He saw a nexus between
luxurious habits and moral decline. Lack of martial spirit also led to the downfall of civic liberties.
If princes and rulers were to be free from corruption, they would have to enact laws that promoted
common political liberties rather than their self-interest.
Corruption, to Machiavelli, meant licence, violence, great inequities in wealth and power, lack of
peace and justice, disorderly ambition and growth, lawlessness, dishonesty and contempt for
religion. It meant the subordination of public values to the private sphere or/and when the public
sphere was used for furthering private aims and interests. Usually, societies that were corrupt
excluded the common people from playing an active role in government and political life.
Machiavelli buttressed this claim by citing two instances of institutional developments that proved
to be fatal to liberty within the Roman republic. The first was extending the period of various
magistrates holding office. This eventually made Rome servile, and deprived its citizens of their
lawful authority. The second was the prolongation of military command, for an increase in the
power of the commanders led to the eventual downfall of the republic.
Corruption could be tackled only with extraordinary measures, like rule by a strong prince with
overwhelming powers. Machiavelli was convinced that a corrupt people could not achieve nor
maintain free politics, for they would be unable to distinguish between subjective private interests
and the public domain. They lacked the inner strength to prevent those in power from advancing
their private interests, as they themselves, if given the opportunity, would use the political sphere
for the pursuit of their private interests (Shumer 1979: 8 – 9). They would appropriate the state for
them-selves.
Machiavelli believed that a measure of public virtue as a common ideal and goal for the entire
polity, faith in the system and in persons whom the people trusted were fundamental prerequisites
for not only ending corruption, but also in making a beginning of the real development of the
individual. Civic virtu in a ruler were martial qualities needed to defend the state against external
aggression and internal disunity. In an ordinary individual, it meant public-spiritedness and
patriotism necessary for ensuring freedom and deterring tyranny.

Attitude to Religion
The novelty in Machiavelli’s writings was his attitude towards religion and morality, which
distinguished him from all those who preceded him. He was scathing in his attack on the Church
and its clergy for their failure to provide moral inspiration. He wrote:
We Italians then owe to the Church of Rome and to her priests our having become
irreligious and bad; but we owe her a still greater debt and one that will be the cause
of our ruin, namely, that the Church has kept and still keeps our country divided.
Machiavelli was anti-Church and anti-clergy, but not anti-religion. He considered religion as
necessary not only for man’s social life, but also for the health and prosperity of the state. It was
important within a state because of the influence it wielded over political life in general. Though
an indispensable part of civic life, it was never an end in itself. As a political tool, princes and
rulers were to use religion in their power struggles effectively, but responsibly and cautiously,
otherwise it could be disastrous.
Religion was good only if it produced order, for peace brought forth fortune and success.
Machiavelli’s attitude towards religion was strictly utilitarian. It was a social force and did not
have any spiritual connotation. As a social force, it played a pivotal role because it appealed to the
selfishness of man through its doctrine of rewards and punishment, thereby inducing proper

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