{"id":107,"date":"2012-12-22T17:51:11","date_gmt":"2012-12-22T22:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/?page_id=107"},"modified":"2015-06-04T11:30:15","modified_gmt":"2015-06-04T15:30:15","slug":"chapter-8-does-the-end-justify-the-means","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-8-14\/chapter-8-does-the-end-justify-the-means\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 8: Does the End Justify the Means?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Machiavelli knew full well that politicians could and did rise to power using dirty tricks.<\/strong> He considered deception a fair tool in war. He would have understood all too well today\u2019s political \u201cattack ads\u201d as weapons in the arsenal of a determined political challenger or party:<\/p>\n

\u201cOne ascends to the principality by some wicked or nefarious ways\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It was from Machiavelli\u2019s Chapter VIII:<\/strong> Concerning Those Who Have Obtained a Principality by Wickedness,<\/em> as well as from The Discourses<\/em>, that the concept of \u2018the end justifies the means\u2019 was derived.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor although the act condemns the doer, the end may justify him\u2026\u201d
\nThe Discourses: I, 9<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mansfield translates this as, \u201cWhen the act accuses, the result excuses<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two Lessons in Management<\/h2>\n

Machiavelli gives two very similar examples to illustrate his idea, one ancient, one contemporary, of individuals who took control of a city by cunning and crime \u2013 \u201cwickedness.\u201d In both cases, the would-be rulers murdered the city\u2019s leaders and took command for themselves. But the end was different for each, and that created the moral.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn judging policies, we should consider the results that have been achieved\u00a0through them, rather than the means by which they have been executed.\u201d
\nMachiavelli: undated letter to Piero Soderini<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

His first example was Agathocles, an ancient Sicilian, son of a potter, but a man with a brilliant mind. He devoted himself to the military profession and he rose to the rank of Praetor \u2013 a magistrate \u2013 of Syracuse.<\/p>\n

During this time, the Carthaginian army was fighting to conquer Sicily. Agathocles made a deal with its general to halt his attacks against Syracuse while Agathocles took control of the city from inside. The general thought he was gaining an ally to help him overthrow the city.<\/p>\n

Agathocles first made a bold move by tricking the people of Syracuse:<\/p>\n

\u201cOne morning he assembled the people and senate of Syracuse, as if to discuss with them things relating to the Republic. At a given signal, the soldiers killed all the senators and the richest men in the city. Once they were dead, he seized and held the princedom of that city without any civil commotion.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite his blatantly immoral act, Agathocles, in Machiavelli\u2019s eyes, redeemed himself by not surrendering Syracuse to the Carthaginians, but instead fighting back. He routed them in battle twice, and successfully defended the city against their siege. While besieged, Agathocles took part of his force and attacked the Carthaginian cities in North Africa which forced the enemy army to retreat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Carthaginians\u2026 were compelled to come to terms with Agathocles, and, leaving Sicily to him, had to be content with the possession of Africa.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So in the end, the state was saved; its enemy forced to leave. Syracuse prospered as a result.<\/p>\n

Agathocles did not rely on luck, but on his own talents and cunning, to achieve his success and Machiavelli always appreciated men with talent:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe attained pre-eminence\u2026 not by the favour of any one, but step by step\u2026 gained with a thousand troubles and perils, and were afterwards boldly held by him with many hazards and dangers\u2026 if the courage of Agathocles in entering into and extricating himself from dangers be considered, together with his greatness of mind in enduring overcoming hardships, it cannot be seen why he should be esteemed less than the most notable captain.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Machiavelli then criticizes Agathocles for deceiving, then murdering, the citizens; not because it was a wicked act per se, but because it stained his reputation:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt cannot be called skill to slay fellow-citizens, to betray friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without moral obligation. Such methods may gain empire, but not glory\u2026 his barbarous cruelty and inhumanity\u2026 do not permit him to be celebrated among the most excellent men.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In other words, despite his successes, his reputation was forever discredited and he was condemned as a villain in history. But even so, Machiavelli admires him for his boldness, courage and skill. His methods worked, and that\u2019s what counts.<\/p>\n

His second example was a contemporary of Machiavelli\u2019s: Oliverotto\u00a0da Fermo, who was also trained in the military profession. He had<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026wit and a vigorous body and mind, he became a commander in his profession.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He also had great ambition to become much more than just a soldier, however.<\/p>\n

Oliverotto\u00a0conspired with some citizens of the city of Fermo for him to take control of it and become its ruler. They thought he would reward them, later. He entered the city with one hundred horsemen, plus his friends and retainers, under pretense of needing an honour guard to show off his patrimony. He convinced his uncle, Giovanni, to allow him in and to tell the citizens his large and armed group was not a threat to the city.<\/p>\n

The gullible Giovanni even lodged Oliverotto\u00a0in his own house, where Oliverotto\u00a0hosted a banquet to which he invited the governing politicians and well-to-do citizens of Fermo.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespise the free lunch. What is offered for free is dangerous \u2013 it usually involves a trick or a hidden obligation.\u201d
\nRobert Greene, 48 Laws of Power: 40<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There are good and bad ways to be cruel, he tells us. You sometimes need to use force or violence to secure your position, but once that\u2019s achieved, you have to stop and let things heal.<\/p>\n<\/div>When the citizens were seated, Oliverotto\u2019s soldiers burst in and slaughtered Giovanni and the rest. Oliverotto made himself the ruler \u2013 prince \u2013 of Fermo that night after terrifying the rest of the people into obedience:<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter these murders Oliverotto, mounted on horseback, rode up and down the town and besieged the chief magistrate in the palace. In fear the people were forced – obey him, and to form a government, with himself as prince.\u201d<\/p>\n

In The Discourses<\/em>, Machiavelli warns you to beware of what seem to be your enemy\u2019s mistakes, because they make be hiding a cunning trap:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe captain of an army ought not to build on what seems a manifest blunder on the part of an enemy; for as men are unlikely to act with conspicuous want of caution, it will commonly be found that this blunder is cover to a fraud. And yet, so blinded are men’s minds by their eagerness for victory, that they look only to what appears on the surface.\u201d
\nThe Discourses: III, 48<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And in this case, it was a trap that Giovanni and the rest fell into.<\/p>\n

Machiavelli admired skillful cunning, too, not just talent or a skillful use of force:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe art of deception, an art always necessary for those who would mount to great heights from low beginnings; and which is the less to be\u00a0condemned when\u2026 it is skillfully concealed. …the only inference to be drawn\u2026 is that the prince who would accomplish great things must have learned how to deceive.\u201d
\nThe Discourses: II, 13<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Over the weeks and months that followed, Oliverotto continued his reign of terror. He rounded up and,<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026killed all the malcontents who were able to injure him, and strengthened himself with new civil and military ordinances, in such a way that, in the year during which he held the principality, not only was he secure in the city of Fermo, but all his neighbours feared him.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unlike Agathocles of the first example, because of his continued atrocities, Oliverotto\u00a0did not have the support of the people. He was not able to hold his city when Cesare Borgia later attacked it because the people wouldn\u2019t help him. Oliverotto\u00a0and his lieutenant Vitellozzo, were captured and executed by Borgia when the city fell.<\/p>\n

Well-Used Cruelty<\/h2>\n

So what was the difference Machiavelli was trying to highlight in these two similar tales?<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that this follows from whether cruelty is being badly or well used. Those may be\u00a0called properly used\u2026 that are applied\u00a0at one blow out of necessity to secure one\u2019s power, and that are not persisted in afterwards, unless they can be turned to the advantage of the subjects.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A well-used cruelty?<\/em> Cruelty as a tool for political ends? What a concept!<\/p>\n

Machiavelli breaks away from the traditional fixed morality of Aristotle and the church with this comment. No one before had ever suggested cruelty could be used in a creative way for the greater good. This concept evolved into today\u2019s \u201craison d’etat<\/em>” \u2013 putting the national interest \u2013 the goals and needs of the state \u2013 over the personal.<\/p>\n

There are good and bad ways to be cruel, he tells us. You sometimes need to use force or violence to secure your position, but once that\u2019s achieved, you have to stop and let things heal:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe badly employed are those which, even if initially limited, multiply with time rather than decrease. Those who practice the first system are able\u2026 to maintain their rule, as Agathocles did. It is impossible for those who follow the other method to survive.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In other words, if the ruler takes control by force, but does not continue to use force to maintain his rule, then the use of that force may be\u00a0justified if the state is saved. But if, like Oliverotto, the ruler continues to use force and is unable to save the state against opposition, then it was not justified.<\/p>\n

\u201cPower and violence are opposites; where the one rules absolutely, the other is absent. Violence appears where power is in jeopardy, but left to its own course it ends in power\u2019s disappearance… Violence can destroy power; it is utterly incapable of creating it.\u201d
\nHannah Arendt, New York Review of Books, Feb. 27, 1969<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For Machiavelli, the long-term security and prosperity of the state was always the overriding concern. Even though they used similar methods to gain power, Agathocles saved his state, Oliverotto did not.<\/p>\n

Machiavelli suggests that the populace supported Agathocles because his use of force ended quickly, and their support helped save the state against attackers. Fermo\u2019s people did not support Oliverotto because of his continued cruelty, and did not defend the city against its attackers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn seizing a state, the usurper ought to examine closely into all those injuries which it is necessary for him to inflict, and to do them all at one stroke, so as not to have to repeat them daily. Thus by not unsettling men he will be able to reassure them, and win them to himself through subsequent benefits.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Do what you need to secure yourself, and do it at once. Then stop. If you continue to inflict injury on the people, they will never support you.<\/p>\n

If you fail to act decisively, and quickly, Machiavelli warned, you will never have peace because someone will be plotting against you. You\u2019ll always have to be on your guard and armed against opponents:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe who does otherwise, either from timidity or evil advice, is always compelled to keep the knife in his hand. He cannot rely on his subjects, nor can they feel secure under him, owing to his continued and repeated wrongs.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you keep enemies alive \u2013 or allow them to stay on staff \u2013 who can harm you, they will do so when the opportunity arises. They will always be looking for ways to bring you down, always be trying to win your allies to their side.<\/p>\n

Deal with your enemies all at once. Be decisive, don\u2019t procrastinate. A swift stroke is more effective and less painful than a thousand little cuts:<\/p>\n

\u201cInjuries ought to be done all at one time, so that, being tasted less, they offend less; benefits ought to be given little by little, so that the flavour of them may last longer.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the History of Florence, Machiavelli puts it this way:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhen many suffer, few seek vengeance; for general evils are endured more patiently than private ones. To increase the number of misdeeds will, therefore, make forgiveness more easily attainable, and will open the way to secure what we require for our own liberty.\u201d
\nHistory of Florence, Book III, 3<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Benefits, on the other hand, are best doled out in small amounts over time. Don\u2019t give out too much all at once. People will only expect more later, as he says in Chapter 16.<\/p>\n

Stick close to your power base and pay attention to your staff and advisors, watching for any signs of trouble or dissent. That way you can see trouble coming before it becomes unmanageable.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbove all things, a prince ought to live amongst his people in such a way that no unexpected circumstances, whether of good or evil, shall make him change his course.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

People like predictable, constant rulers. When rulers are unpredictable or change their minds too often, the people will be \u2018toothing\u2019 for change, as Machiavelli wrote in Chapter 2.<\/p>\n

If trouble later arises from failing to act decisively, you will not be able to control it. It will be too late for harsh measures to fix problems, and mild measures will not generate the fear and respect necessary for you to rule:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the necessity for this comes in troubled times, you are too late for harsh measures; and mild ones will not help you, for they will be considered as forced from you, and no one will be under any obligation to you for them.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Agathocles\u2019 eventual goal was the greater good of the state. Oliverotto\u2019s goal was his own betterment. Only in the first example, in Machiavelli\u2019s mind, could the end justify the means.<\/p>\n

If you have board or staff members you feel are acting contrary to council\u2019s wishes, who are going in a direction contrary to council\u2019s strategic goals, who are making comments in the media, to residents or to other staff, that are critical of council\u2019s decisions, or who are challenging the mayor\u2019s or council\u2019s authority, is it justifiable to dismiss them?<\/p>\n

Yes, says Machiavelli, if the end is better for your town, better for the people, better for council and helps preserve your power. But not if you find it doesn\u2019t fix the problem, and you have to keep dismissing people or punishing them in other ways.<\/p>\n

“(Castruccio) having put to death a citizen of Lucca who had been instrumental in raising him to power, and being told that he had done wrong to kill one of his old friends, he answered that people deceived themselves; he had only killed a new enemy.”
\nThe Life Of Castruccio Castracani Of Lucca<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 1913, as the world lurched inexorably towards the first World War, Helmuth von Moltke, the German Chief of the General Staff who was urging German militarism and a direct attack against France, spoke another variation of the ‘end justifies the means’ adage:<\/p>\n

“We must put aside all commonplaces as to the responsibility of the aggressor… Success alone justifies war.”
\nQuoted in The Guns of August, by Barbara Tuchman.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course, determining whether the goal was noble really depends on which side of the means you received. Make sure you\u2019re on the winning side.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistory is written by the winners.\u201d
\nGeorge Orwell: As I Please, 4 February 1944<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/em>
\nPrevious Chapter<\/a> – Next Chapter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Machiavelli knew full well that politicians could and did rise to power using dirty tricks. He considered deception a fair tool in war. He would have understood all too well today\u2019s political \u201cattack ads\u201d as weapons in the arsenal of a determined political challenger or party: \u201cOne ascends to the principality by some wicked or … Continue reading “Chapter 8: Does the End Justify the Means?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":251,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-107","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":134,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-8-14\/chapter-9-problems-newcomers-face\/","url_meta":{"origin":107,"position":0},"title":"Chapter 9: Problems Newcomers Face","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Perhaps even more relevant to municipal politicians\u00a0who are elected\u00a0to their role than his comments on hereditary states, Machiavelli also wrote about republican states where a ruler was appointed from among the populace, \u201c\u2026by the favour of his fellow citizens, not\u00a0by wickedness or force, this may be called a civil principality.\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/addenda\/a-brief-biography-of-machiavelli\/","url_meta":{"origin":107,"position":1},"title":"A Brief Biography of Machiavelli","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"In order to appreciate Machiavelli, it is necessary to have at least a superficial understanding of his life and environment. Although his ideas are timeless, he was very much a product of his time and place \u2013 the Italian Renaissance. Five hundred years later, his ideas generally hold up well\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/addenda\/a-brief-biography-of-machiavelli\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-1-7\/chapter-2-why-incumbents-rule-municipalities\/","url_meta":{"origin":107,"position":2},"title":"Chapter 2: Why Incumbents Rule Municipalities","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"In Chapter II: Concerning Hereditary Principalities, Machiavelli describes the advantages a hereditary ruler has over one who has taken the principality by force. Today we don\u2019t use the same sort of armed force to win our power: we use elections and campaign teams; battlegrounds and armies of a different sort.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":834,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/miscellanea\/demonizing-machiavelli\/","url_meta":{"origin":107,"position":3},"title":"Demonizing Machiavelli","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"January 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Criticism of Machiavelli by the church started almost as soon as\u00a0The Prince was published. One of the earliest English attacks against Machiavelli came from Cardinal Reginald Pole, who wrote an \u201capology\u201d to Charles V in 1539. He attacks\u00a0The Prince and Machiavelli himself at length, saying the book had been written\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/miscellanea\/demonizing-machiavelli\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":197,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-22-26\/chapter-24-how-not-to-be-re-elected\/","url_meta":{"origin":107,"position":4},"title":"Chapter 24: How Not to be Re-Elected","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Newcomers are more closely watched by the public and the media than incumbents. Everyone knows what to expect from incumbents, but newcomers, especially new mayors, are a mystery that needs close observation. In part, it\u2019s because voters want assurances that they made the right decision to put you in office.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43,"url":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/chapters-1-7\/chapter-3-newcomers-versus-incumbents\/","url_meta":{"origin":107,"position":5},"title":"Chapter 3: Newcomers Versus Incumbents","author":"Ian Chadwick","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Machiavelli called this Chapter III: Concerning Mixed Principalities. In it, he wrote about new principalities that had been conquered by outsiders, or their leaders overthrown by the populace. In today\u2019s terms this could refer to a group of incumbents getting tossed out at election time, and replaced by a slate\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":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1179,"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/107\/revisions\/1179"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}