Government Affairs Blog

The Prince

Machiavelli’s The Prince is often quoted as a pragmatist’s guidebook.  Machiavelli certainly made the case for pragmatic rule against moral action.  He does at times nod to moral concerns but his advice is all about how to gain and retain power.

There isn’t that much that can be applied today.  These days there is no requirement for Gordon Brown to slaughter Tony Blair and his family when Brown became Prime Minister.  One could argue that it is the principles that one can apply not the actual advice.  Then again it would appear ironic to apply principles when one is discussing pragmatism.

Machiavelli was writing at a time when Prince’s ruled and there was no ‘rule of law’.  Italy was torn apart by war and instead of arguing for the creation of a Leviathan (Hobbes' answer to the English Civil War) or a system of contracts and rules (Locke’s answer to Hobbes), Machiavelli offers his suggestions to the Prince on how to survive and rule in such an environment.

This goes to the heart of why these suggestions aren’t particularly applicable now.  So why bother to read The Prince at all?  Perhaps because the underlying message for us today is that the world Machiavelli lived in wasn’t the most comfortable or secure place and we should be grateful that we have found other ways of ending one regime and beginning another.

Simon Goldie is Head of Communication at The Chartered Institute of Taxation – www.tax.org.uk - and a member of the CIPR GAG committee