Niccolo Machiavelli: Ancient Thinker on Virtue and Self Interest

Ancient and Medieval Political Theory
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Ancient Thinkers on Virtue and Self Interest
According to Nichollo Machiavelli, a leader needs to learn how not to be good. Machiavelli presents a blueprint of how a leader ought to rule to maintain power. The main goal should be to win power and understand how to hold on to it at all costs. If a leader can achieve a balance of being loved and feared simultaneously, they should maintain that status. However, if they are presented with either being loved or feared, they should choose to be feared (Machiavelli, 2019). Self-interest, according to Machiavelli, should be the driving force of any leader. They should maintain this interest by all means possible. If a force threatens this interest, they should completely crash such a force or attempt.
If one does not get any rewards by being virtuous, what is the point of holding on to virtues then? Virtue should be about in and of itself. When one decides to be moral, they should not do so expecting any rewards. They should do so because it is just good to be kind than to be cruel. Virtue is a good human quality, but Machiavelli still insists that it is essential for a ruler to learn how not to be good (Machiavelli, 2019). In essence, Machiavelli is not asking rulers to be cruel but to be firm and be ready to act cruelly to streamline human selfishness and maintain harmony within society. Humans tend to be inherently selfish by nature, and if left to their devices, it could lead to the disintegration of society. Rulers must, therefore, construct a system that determines how people behave to ensure that they stay in line...