At first glance, one cannot be castigated for failing to recognize the simultaneous association between power and glory in Machiavelli’s world. The argument is founded on an understanding that Machiavelli, for long has been a household name in the world of dirty politics. Heralded for the ideologies of political thuggery they advanced, Machiavelli created the illusion of power being the ultimate goal and all else came second. Some of Machiavelli’s notable quotes support this school of thought. According to Malcolmson and Cornell (2016), Machiavelli taught how to gain and keep oneself in power, by whichever means, moral or immoral. This is evident in their observation that, a “prince who wants to keep the state is often forced to be not good” (Machiavelli, 1997). Machiavelli also advanced the concept of value free science of politics based on the ideal of what ought to be. Machiavelli maintained that, for individuals who let go of what is done for what should be done, learn their ruin rather than their preservation. Such notion instills the perception that Machiavelli contended power can exist without glory.
Understanding the notions advance by Machiavelli requires basic knowledge of the concept of glory. The Cambridge Dictionary defines glory as “great admiration, honor, and praise that one earns by achieving something, or something which deserves admiration or honor.” Application of the definition leads to the contention that even in cases where a person wields and misuses power, the fact that they managed to amass such power earns them admiration, albeit from supporters of their ideologies. On the other hand, Machiavelli’s concepts on power tend to advance the argument that the phenomenon is inseparable from glory. In this regard, an individual can have both power and glory if they use such power to advance what is considered morally plausible. Malcolmson and Cornell (2016) observed that this aspect of the relationship between power and glory can be looked at from the paradigm of Machiavelli the Renaissance humanist. As typical representative of civic humanism, Machiavelli aided the proliferation of the civic virtue found in republicanism. The ideology is inherent in their observation that, “a prince who builds his foundation on the people ‘and with his spirit and his orders keeps the generality of people inspired, he will never find himself deceived by them and he will see he has laid his foundations well” (Malcolmson & Cornell, 2016). The implication of the statement in light of the theme under discussion is that it reflects the possibility of an individual having both power and glory. Under certain circumstance, power is a necessary weapon to influence developments that lead to glory.
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References
Malcolmson, P., & Cornell, C. (2016). Prudence and glory: Machiavelli on political leadership. In The Ashgate Research Companion to Political Leadership (pp. 85-106). Routledge.
