Machiavelli and his statecraft from God

Machiavelli has been drastically distorted. Many people including scholars all over the world think that Machiavelli was an unethical and unreligious person. I have to argue that Machiavelli was not only a Christian but his ideas and theories are closely linked with his Christian spirituality Indeed, a few Scholars in recent years have revised their interests to study the link between Machiavelli’s political theories and Republican Christianity during his lifetime.

The Renaissance in Italy gave rise to Humanism and cultural transformation. However, it did not cut the tie with God completely in Machiavelli’s heart. To Machiavelli, state and faith are linked. Caritas is a key Christian virtue. It means unconditional and sacrificial love. A totally committed love for common good is Caritas. Machiavelli views that unconditional love for one’s fatherland as Caritas. Patriotism is a form and process of charity, leading to perfect Caritas. Every person and citizen should be patriotic so that he will become more God-like. 

Further, Machiavelli accepted the Christian ideal that one should have God’s friendship like Moses. God’s friendship is a grace. Once having God’s friendship, a person can talk to God. God was unwilling to do everything on one’s behalf but His aid was decisive in assuring success. Under this theological logic, if all the people are truly patriotic and love their fatherland, God would certainly help the Italian people to redeem their homeland as they will have friendship with God.

Should a Christian pursue glory? Machiavelli distinguished between glory and fame. As mentioned above, God will not do everything for people. If people carry out great works of redemption, it is always due to God. The great works are not personal glory but fame due to God. Hence, people including leaders or citizens should strive for fame not glory. Machiavelli defines his own hierarchy of fame. The most praised are those who have been heads of orders of religions. Next are those who have founded or reformed either republics and kingdoms. The more fame they achieve, the more they become God-like.

According to the theological cosmology of Machiavelli, this universe moves in cycles and everything will return to its beginning. He writes:

“There is nothing more true than that all the things of this world have a limit to their existence, but those only run the entire course for them by Heaven that do not allow their body to become disorganized, but keep it unchanged in the manner ordained, or if they change it, so do it shall be for their advantage, and not to their injury. …. such as republics or religious sects, I say that those changes are beneficial that bring them back to their original principles.”

Interestingly, his cosmology is very similar to ideas of Lao Tsz, the founder of Taoist Philosophy School of Ancient China. According to Lao Tsz, everything follows the Tao, that is it rises and then declines to the beginning in a cycle. Any state or political institution has a tendency to move in deviation from the good origin so that changes are necessary to hold back such tendency in order to keep track of the origin. The world is not static and changes are inevitable. However, God gives us the choice to make good changes.

This explains why a ruler or statesman who makes reforms to redeem a state from deterioration will have the friendship with God for help. To Machiavelli, changes with reform statecraft are essential. This is similar to the philosophy of the Legalist School in Ancient China. Internal reform is necessary to safeguard statehood and even security against foreign invasion. The Chinese Legalists emphasized on reform in law and institutions. Likewise Machiavelli writes:

“If Rome wished to preserve her liberty in the midst of the corruption, she should have modified her constitution, in like manner as in the progress of her existence she had made new laws; for institutions and forms should be adopted to the subject….. But as the constitution of a state, when once it has been discovered to be no longer suitable, should be amended, either all at once, or by degrees as each defect becomes known.”

Machiavelli was very concerned about corruption as he understood fully that a state’s weakness stems from enemies within. Surprisingly, the best means to prevent corruption is not law and punishment. It is religion. He writes:

“Princes and republics who wished to maintain themselves free from corruption must above all things preserve the purity of all religious observances, and treat them with proper reverence, for there is no greater indication of the ruin of a country than to see religion condemned.”

Certainly, Machiavelli hoped that both leaders and citizens would have true and devoted faith, rather than treat religion as a formality or as an institution for wealth and power only. Government and politicians should gain insights from Machiavelli’s wisdom on how contemporary policies have ruined Christianity, particularly in the West. 

Many people objected to Machiavelli’s ideas about drastic and cruel measures. We should not rush to a conclusion.

He writes about cruelty:

“Some may wonder how it was that Agathocles and others like him, after their infinite treason and cruelty, could live for any length of time securely in the countries whose sovereignty they had usurped, and even defend themselves successfully against external enemies, without any attempts on the part of their own citizens to conspire against them….cruelty was well or ill applied; we call well applied when it is committed once from necessity for self-preservation, and afterwards not persisted in, but converted as far as possible to the public good … Those who adopt the first practice may remedy their condition before God.”

Cruelty is also related to disorder, as Machiavelli writes:

“To restore order among the inhabitants and obedience to the sovereign, it was necessary to establish a good and vigorous government there. And for this purpose he appointed as governor of that province Don Ramiro d’Orco, a man of cruelty, but at the same time of great energy, to whom he gave plenary power. In a very short time d’Orco reduced the province to peace and order, thereby gaining for himself the highest reputation.”

Hence, for Machiavelli, drastic and cruel measures applied skilfully and with prudence are permitted by God to solve the disorders and chaos in a state and society. 

In conclusion, people misunderstood Machiavelli as a secular thinker. In fact, his ideas are shaped by Christian faith and cosmology. Virtues and values are of paramount importance to understand his politics and statecraft.