I’ve been thinking about The Prince a bit this week. And no, I don’t mean Charles, who is now King, nor William, the newly promoted Prince of Wales. This isn’t about any current living royal.
The Prince was the book written in the 1500’s by Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian diplomat and philosopher. It’s been three decades since I’ve read it, but it contains a fundamental question for new leaders – at the time princes and kings. Is it better for a ruler to be loved or feared?
The first time I read the book was in a high school English Literature class. I suspect that’s how many study it these days. Without additional context and within the overlay of modern democratic republics where the people choose their own leaders – sometimes using the “who would I like to have a beer with” test – it’s easy to see how the term Machiavellian has developed negative connotations.
After all, when is it not better to be loved? We want the nice person making decisions. No one wants to vote for a tyrant.
The last time I studied the book, however, it was within the context of an undergraduate psychology class. In that context, the book broadens beyond the narrow focus of this one question and chapter. It discusses, bluntly and without varnish, what was required to rule over vast and sometimes disparate lands in the 1500’s in order to hold a kingdom together.
The 1500’s were hard and unforgiving times. A king that didn’t protect his kingdom and ensure that his subjects were provided for would not remain king for long. Difficult choices often had to be made. Enemies would pounce on any weakness, real or perceived, for their own gain.
Why have I been thinking about this book and its lessons on tough leadership decisions? Here’s a few of this week’s headlines:
“White House races to block expected OPEC+ production cut.” – CNBC
“U.S. looks to ease Venezuelan sanctions, enabling Chevron to pump oil.” – Wall Street Journal
“German minister criticizes U.S. over ‘astronomical’ gas prices.” – CNBC
“North Korea sends missile soaring over Japan in escalation.” – AP
“Putin seizes Europe’s largest nuclear plant, signs law annexing Ukraine land; Opec cuts oil production, helps Russia.” – USA Today
I see these headlines, and I’m willing to openly ask the question in a slightly different and modern context: Does the United States want to be loved or feared?
The answer to that question in The Prince was “ideally, both” and that answer broadly applies here. The U.S. must remain a beacon and shining city on a hill that is the model to nations wishing to have our democratic processes. It’s nice to be liked.
When dealing with nations like Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and others who oppose western democratic values, we must understand they do not care about the will of the people, or more specifically, “being nice.” Vladimir Putin has invaded a peaceful neighbor, has his armies actively committing war crimes, is openly threatening to use nuclear weapons, and has used his permanent Veto at the United Nations to thwart any official action or even criticism by the body charged to maintain peace.
China commits crimes of human rights on a daily basis, suppresses any form of free speech or dissent, and is openly thwarting all agreements on environmental protections and carbon reductions. OPEC has conspired to kill America’s domestic oil drilling as recently as 2020 by flooding the market with crude (in coordination with Russia), has members that openly fund terrorism, and now again seeks to send the American economy deeper into recession by restricting output at a time when the world needs it most.
And then there are our allies. Machiavelli warns to beware of flatterers. These are those who will tell us how rich and powerful we are, while getting us to pay for a disproportionate share of their national defense. Germany has done this for decades, and then made energy deals that leave them and our economic interests defenseless.
It’s nice for America to be liked. For America and our interests to be respected, however, we need a little bit more of the fear factor. That will take a little more resolve, more reliance on our own domestic economic resources, and above all, less acting like the world’s ATM while simultaneously being the world’s doormat.
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