{"id":162,"date":"2012-12-23T08:26:25","date_gmt":"2012-12-23T13:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/?page_id=162"},"modified":"2012-12-31T14:51:05","modified_gmt":"2012-12-31T19:51:05","slug":"chapter-16-parsimony-beats-generosity","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-15-21\/chapter-16-parsimony-beats-generosity\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 16: Parsimony Beats Generosity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Picking up the theme from his last chapter<\/strong>, in Chapter XVI:<\/strong> Concerning Liberality and Meanness<\/em>, Machiavelli makes the point that being generous for its own sake actually harms your reputation, and will cost you all your belongings and political capital. Liberality in his chapter title also translates as \u201cgenerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going to be benevolent, even if you just pretend to be, you need to make sure everyone knows about it, otherwise you\u2019re wasting your money:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is good to have a reputation for being generous. Nevertheless, generosity exercised in a way that does not bring you the reputation for being generous, injures you. If you exercise it modestly as it should be exercised, it may go unnoticed, and you will not avoid the reproach of being a miser.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Don\u2019t be an anonymous donor. Make sure you get at least a photo op from your benevolence. But watch what you give away.<\/p>\n

You want that second ice surface? Sure, build it! That downtown civic centre for the arts? No problem; shovel\u2019s in the ground. Another off-leash park for your dogs? Bought the land and just waiting for the fencing. Pave Jones and Smith streets again? Run the water and sewer lines out to the Tenth Concession? Upgrade the water plant? Let\u2019s get on it\u2026<\/p>\n

Too much generosity is going to hurt you. People always want more and more and more. They\u2019re never content with enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the desires of men are insatiable, Nature prompting them to desire all things and Fortune permitting them to enjoy but few, there results a constant discontent in their minds, and a loathing of what they possess, prompting them to find fault with the present, praise the past, and long for the future, even though they be not moved thereto by any reasonable cause.\u201d
\nThe Discourses: II, Preface<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Later in the chapter, Machiavelli points out that those who are running for office need to have a reputation for generosity. What else but promises are you going to hand out on the campaign trail? But once you reach power, it has to stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cEither you are a prince in fact, or in a way to become one. In the first case this generosity is dangerous, in the second it is very necessary to be considered generous\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Generosity is a slippery slope. Once you start being generous in office, in order for everyone to continue to see you as generous, you have to keep giving and then giving more:<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone wishing to maintain among men the reputation of generosity is obliged to be ostentatiously lavish\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You have to make sure you\u2019re present at the photo op for the cheque presentation or other council largesse.<\/p>\n

However, too much ostentation in a politician is a career stopper. Soon you\u2019ll have to go back to the electorate and raise taxes to pay for everything you promised. To keep being seen as generous obliges you to show no end to your ostentation, but doing so will ruin you:<\/p>\n

\u201cA prince thus inclined will consume in such acts all his property, and will be compelled in the end\u2026 to unduly burden his people with taxes, and do everything he can to get money to maintain his reputation.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s easier, Machiavelli says, to create a reputation for generosity than to live with the reality of it.<\/p>\n

Promises, Promises, Promises<\/h2>\n

We all make promises on the campaign trail when we\u2019re fighting to win a seat at the table; generous promises of favours, gifts, tax relief, new facilities, lower user fees, better services. And we all discover once we get into office that we can\u2019t afford everything we promised, not if we want to also keep that other major promise we all make: keeping taxes low.<\/p>\n

You can break the others, but once you break that last promise, you become,<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 unpopular with his subjects, and becoming poor, he will be despised by everyone\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you don\u2019t have the funds in reserves to pay for your largesse, you have to borrow the money. You plunder your reserves, empty the coffers, and then your municipality borrows the rest through long-term debentures. The taxpayers have to ante up.<\/p>\n

The generous promises you actually try to keep \u2013 like that new ice surface, the new sidewalk, the stretch of road paved, the skateboard park, the longer library hours \u2013 they benefit the few; often just special interest groups or a small segment of the community. But the big promise that you break \u2013 about no tax increases \u2013 will offend the majority:<\/p>\n

\u201cWith his generosity, having offended many and rewarded few, he is vulnerable to the very first sign of trouble and \u2026 wishing to withdraw from his reputation, he runs at once into the reproach of being miserly.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Those your generosity doesn\u2019t benefit will become angry at you for spending their money on what they see as frivolous gestures or unnecessary upgrades. You build a new library for the literati, and the hockey parents complain they needed another ice surface instead. You build new soccer pitches and the arts community complains they needed a public art gallery. You repave one street and the folks on the next one over complain theirs has more potholes and should have been done first.<\/p>\n

You get into worse trouble for raising taxes to pay for your promises. Then, because there\u2019s no money left, you try to recover by cutting spending which means services. Uh uh. Doesn\u2019t work. Now you\u2019re seen as stingy. Your reputation is in shambles by that point.<\/p>\n

Better to be the miser right away. People will respect you \u2013 perhaps grudgingly and not right away, but they will eventually do so:<\/p>\n

\u201cA wise prince ought not to fear the reputation of being miserly, for in time he will come to be seen as more generous than if he was generous from the start. People will see that, with his economy his revenues are enough, that he can defend himself against all attacks, and he is able to engage in enterprises without burdening his people\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the long run, people will respect the tightwads for watching over their money more than the lavish spenders. The electorate will remember you better for keeping their taxes low than for any gifts you bring them. As long as you don\u2019t burden them with extra taxes, or cut too many services, over time they will see your stinginess as generosity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThus it comes to pass that he exercises generosity towards the people from whom he does not take, who are numberless, and miserliness towards those to whom he does not give, who are few.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Those who are angry for not getting the things you promised during the campaign are a lot fewer than those whose taxes you keep low.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not seen great things done in our time except by those who have been considered mean; the rest have failed… A prince, therefore\u2026 ought to hold of little account a reputation for being mean, for it is one of those vices which will enable him to govern.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Generosity, Machiavelli concludes, is self-defeating. Don\u2019t try to pursue a reputation for it. The more you spend, the more you will need to tax, and the more you tax, the more you will be hated.<\/p>\n

However, if you can cadge some provincial or federal money, everyone will think you\u2019re wonderful for spending someone else\u2019s money on them:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does not hurt your reputation if you squander that of others, but instead adds to it; it is only squandering your own that injures you.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Doesn\u2019t matter that it\u2019s really just one taxpayer paying for everything. As long as long as it doesn\u2019t look like you\u2019re spending local money on luxuries, they\u2019ll love you for it.<\/p>\n

If you want to get re-elected, be a skinflint, because too much generosity will earn you only a bad reputation. The councillor who always questions spending and tries to reduce the budget is the one whose name gets in the media most often.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is nothing so self-defeating as generosity \u2026 a prince should guard himself, above all things, against being despised and hated; and generosity leads you to both. It is wiser to have a reputation as a miser, which brings disdain without hatred, than by seeking a reputation for generosity to incur a name for rapacity which begets both disdain and hatred.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

People will eventually like you more for what you didn\u2019t do to them, rather than for any benefits you provided.
\n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/em>
\nPrevious Chapter<\/a> – Next Chapter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Picking up the theme from his last chapter, in Chapter XVI: Concerning Liberality and Meanness, Machiavelli makes the point that being generous for its own sake actually harms your reputation, and will cost you all your belongings and political capital. Liberality in his chapter title also translates as \u201cgenerous.\u201d If you\u2019re going to be benevolent, … Continue reading “Chapter 16: Parsimony Beats Generosity”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":254,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-162","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":254,"url":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-15-21\/","url_meta":{"origin":162,"position":0},"title":"Chapters 15-21","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Click on the chapter name to go to that page: Chapter 15: Looking Good, Acting Bad Chapter 16: Parsimony Beats Generosity Chapter 17: Better to be Feared Than Loved Chapter 18: The Subtle Art of Lying Chapter 19: All You Need Isn\u2019t Love Chapter 20: Factions & Fortresses Chapter 21:\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":164,"url":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-15-21\/chapter-17-better-to-be-feared-than-loved\/","url_meta":{"origin":162,"position":1},"title":"Chapter 17: Better to be Feared Than Loved","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Sure, every politician wants to be popular; we want to be seen as a friendly, generous, considerate, thoughtful, accessible, caring and compassionate. We want photographs and news stories to capture us helping people, serving the community, reaching out, smiling as we hand over the cheque to the local charity. In\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 4 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 4 comments","link":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-15-21\/chapter-17-better-to-be-feared-than-loved\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":79,"url":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/addenda\/machiavellis-rules\/","url_meta":{"origin":162,"position":2},"title":"Machiavelli\u2019s Rules","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Machiavelli\u2019s ideas about power and governing can be boiled down to a handful of rules, somewhat paraphrased below and not in any particular order of importance: Winning matters. If you win, people will judge the methods you used to win as appropriate. If you lose, they will despise both you\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/addenda\/machiavellis-rules\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":158,"url":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-15-21\/chapter-15-looking-good-acting-bad\/","url_meta":{"origin":162,"position":3},"title":"Chapter 15: Looking Good, Acting Bad","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"In Chapter XV: Concerning Things for Which Men, and Especially Princes, Are Praised or Blamed, Machiavelli wrote that his approach was different from that of other advisors, many of whom merely imagined how the world is, rather than living in it. He sarcastically commented that their words don\u2019t reflect what\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-15-21\/chapter-15-looking-good-acting-bad\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7,"url":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/addenda\/introduction\/","url_meta":{"origin":162,"position":4},"title":"Introduction","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Is a sixteenth-century political theorist still relevant to today\u2019s political landscape, especially to modern municipal politics? I believe he is very relevant, although his words need to be recast into modern metaphors and language to appreciate them fully. Yet simply substituting terms like mayor, city manager or CAO, and staff\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":152,"url":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-8-14\/chapter-13-dangerous-lobbyists\/","url_meta":{"origin":162,"position":5},"title":"Chapter 13: Dangerous Lobbyists","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Following on his chapter about problems with mercenaries (consultants), Machiavelli wrote about other types of soldiers used by princes and states: Chapter XIII: Concerning Auxiliaries, Mixed Soldiery, and One's Own. We don\u2019t have similar municipal analogs for auxiliaries today, except perhaps volunteer firefighters. Lobbyists, however, can be seen in this\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":400,"href":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/162\/revisions\/400"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}