Machievelli_vs._Rousseau

Compare the philosophies of Machiavelli and Rousseau Both Machiavelli and Rousseau were important historians and philosophers of their times; Machiavelli was an Italian from the late 15th to early 16th century and Rousseau, a Genevan from the 18th century. Although they shared the basic premise about the human instinct of self preservation, they took vastly different approaches about the morality inherent in human nature. They both would agree that the need for self preservation within a civil society requires some type of order to prevent chaos, and that government is the vehicle to maintain this order. However, their thoughts on the role of government in society and its relationship to the people it governs are in stark contrast. Both Machiavelli and Rousseau believed in human nature's need to protect their well-being. From here, their perspectives differ dramatically. Machiavelli took a very negative view of human nature. He saw men as 'ungrateful, fickle, deceptive and deceiving', looking for ways to gain power and avoid danger regardless of the consequences. He believed they were incapable of ruling themselves and needed a feared leader to maintain order. On the contrary, Rousseau believed that humans were instinctively good and do not want to see human suffering; but that society can turn this positive nature in a negative direction if it suppresses individual freedom and equality. He believed in people's power of reasoning to understand the need to prevent this suppression by adopting societal principles for the benefit of all - hence Rousseaus' well known "Social Contract". Each philosopher's respective beliefs about human nature, likewise shaped their views of the role of government in society. Machievelli and Rousseau could agree that the use of power was necessary to maintain order within a society. Their means to achieve this order were quite different. For Machievelli, this power to maintain order belonged to the society's individual ruler or "Prince". He believed that this ruler should do what is morally right if possible, but that because of man's 'evil' nature, the ruler must be prepared to be ruthless and deceitful, if necessary, to benefit the common good of his citizens. It was up to him to decide what actions were needed for the presumed benefit of his people. Since the people lie (as part of their human nature), so must the ruler according to Machievelli. In other words, if maintaining order or expanding political power required shrewd tactics, Machievelli would view this as a necessity for successful ruling. At the same time, he also found it important for the leader to strive toward 'appearing' as merciful and likeable as possible, regardless of his actions. This was important in order for the prince to maintain control as he believed the people would conspire against him if they believed he had become too corrupt. This threat of uprisings against a ruler was the people's only power against an abusive regime in Machievelli's governing model. In contrast to Machievelli, Rousseau believed the power needed to govern a society should come from the people as a whole. Based on his belief in the common good and reasoning power of people, he believed this model of governing could be successful. Since the people understood the need for societal rules and shared a desire for justice and duty to moral civility, they appreciated the need to govern fairly. In his view, the governing power of society could only be considered legitimate if it represented what the people have agreed to collectively. In other words, he promoted a democratic style of government, with a social contract at its core. As he wrote in "The Social Contract", all participants need to believe they are empowered within this Contract and share common goals for it to be successful. Government is merely the overseers of this Contract. In summary, both Machievelli and Rousseau place our natural human desire for self preservation at the core of society's need for government. While Machievelli views human nature as being inherently evil, Rousseau believes in the goodness of humans. Their respective views about human nature lead to their thoughts on government and it's relationship with the people it governs. For Machievelli, because people are ultimately self-serving in nature, it is necessary for their government (a 'Prince'), to have absolute power if order is to be maintained. On the other hand, since Rousseau believes people want to be good and are able to understand the need for a fair and just society, it is his view that they are capable of self-governing.