Citation:
Tito, Santi Di. Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli by Santi Di Tito. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 27 Feb. 2010. Web. 2 Nov. 2016. <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Niccolò_Machiavelli_by_Santi_di_Tito.jpg>.
According to Machiavelli a ruler best maintains control of his state by being feared rather than loved. He says that in order to maintain order you cannot be too generous or compassionate otherwise you risk being taken advantage of. A ruler must be strict but also must be fair otherwise the ruler risks being hated. The ruler also must maintain a strong army to defend against threats both outside and inside and in order to maintain order within the army he is allowed to do so by any means necessary, even if it is inhumane because the army must be in top conditioning. By remaining strict but fair the ruler inspires patriotism, According to Machiavelli the ends justify the means because the state only exists for the ruler and that ruler must remain in power even if it means committing crime. He also argues that the people within the state are always going to act on human nature which states that people will always act out of there own self interest. He says that the ruler should not care for the welfare of his people because the state only exists for the ruler himself.
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