Book SummaryThe Prince, by Niccolò Machiavelli

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Prince

The Prince is a 16th-century work of political theory and (possibly) an educational resource aimed at fledging authoritarian leaders, or “new princes.” Through simple maxims and historical examples, Niccolò Machiavelli instructs the reader on how princes may seize, maintain, and defend their power, encouraging them to embrace cruelty and deception as necessary tools in their arsenal. According to The Prince, no action is unjustifiable if it contributes to the overall strength and stability of the government.

Machiavelli was a Florentine author, diplomat, and historian who lived through a period of great social and political upheaval in Renaissance Italy. The Prince was the sum of all his experiences in politics as well as a gift offered to Florence’s newly ascended authoritarian leaders in the 1510s, in the hope, or so he claimed, that it would help them lead Italy to greatness. His true intentions have been debated for centuries, and The Prince is both the work for which he is best known and his most controversial.

In the modern day, Machiavellian is used mainly as an insult, describing a treacherous or cutthroat approach to politics. At the same time, many political analysts and scholars invoke Machiavelli’s lessons as a guide to a pragmatic or clear-eyed view of politics, in which other leaders and nations are understood not as idealized symbols but as fundamentally self-interested political actors. The Prince doesn’t argue for tyranny, but rather that the reader should understand themselves and all other leaders as imperfect people working towards a noble vision—a great state, the unification of disparate territories, the liberation of a people, and so on—and willing to undertake whatever is necessary to achieve it.

Mirrors for Princes

The Prince is the best-known, though not the most representative, example of the genre known as mirrors for princes....

The Prince Summary Defining Types of Government

Machiavelli uses the first few chapters of The Prince to describe different types of government. Though he begins by stating that all states are either republics or principalities, the book focuses almost exclusively on principalities, discussing how they’re formed and how a prince can keep them stable against both internal and external threats.

Republics vs. Principalities

Machiavelli does not offer a formal definition of his terms, but from his descriptions, we can gather that republics are ruled by a group of people, chosen for their positions because of their abilities and that citizens under a republic have some freedom to influence politics.

In contrast, principalities are ruled by a single individual who holds exclusive or near-exclusive power. The position may be hereditary, elected by a council of advisors, or with successors being hand-picked by previous princes.

(Shortform note: Despite our modern associations with the word “prince,” Machiavelli is not speaking exclusively of hereditary monarchies. For him, a prince is anyone who exercises authoritarian control over a state. This means that some modern monarchies, such as the one in England,...

The Prince Summary Luck vs. Ability

Throughout the book, Machiavelli sets up a dichotomy between fortuna, meaning fortune or fate, and a prince’s innate skill or ability. According to him, everyone is subject to the whims of luck to some extent. What sets successful princes apart from their peers is that they act decisively against the odds and don’t let bad luck defeat them.

Machiavelli contends that up to half of all human events are subject to chance, implying that half are subject to our own will. He argues that what makes a prince truly great is their refusal to let their life be dictated by fortuna, either through their adaptability or their caution and foresight.

Adaptability

A successful prince must be prepared to act differently according to the particular needs or threats that their state faces. Two princes could behave exactly the same way, but because one rules Rome in the 3rd century and the other rules France in the 12th, one will fail where the other succeeds. Machiavelli advises that when a principality is prosperous and at peace, the prince can be lenient. However, when the principality is at war or suffering economic hardship, the prince may need to be controlling and harsh....

The Prince Summary How a Prince Should Behave

When it comes to how princes should conduct themselves, Machiavelli advises pragmatism. For him, whether a prince is a good and just ruler or a cruel and tyrannical one matters only inasmuch as it helps or hurts their ability to keep power.

However, Machiavelli still believes that princes should have and work towards certain guiding principles. The princes he venerates were driven to brutality or deception by the need to bring about the happiness of the people, the long-term stability of the state, or the greatness of the people as perceived by other states. They weren’t motivated solely by greed or selfishness.

Pragmatism and Realpolitik

Throughout history, critics of Machiavelli have called him a teacher of evil, instructing princes to behave in fundamentally self-interested and amoral ways. He’s even been compared to the devil himself. However, while Machiavelli rejected traditional morality, he didn’t believe that princes should be amoral or that it was a prince’s job to...

The Prince Summary How to Form a State

Because Machiavelli wrote The Prince primarily for new princes, he dedicates several chapters to the question of how a prince should approach conquering and then organizing the territory that they intend to make into their principality. He breaks his advice on this subject into three main categories: how to build up armed forces, choose trustworthy advisors to support you, and win over a newly conquered people.

Building Up Armed Forces

Machiavelli distinguishes between three types of armies: hired forces, borrowed forces, and personal forces. He cautions princes to avoid hired forces, to be wary of borrowed forces, and to opt for personal forces when possible.

Hired and Borrowed Forces

Hired forces are a preexisting mercenary group that a prince pays for their services, while borrowed forces are soldiers loaned to a prince by another prince or government, either because they’re working towards a common goal or as a show of goodwill between nations. There are two issues with hired or borrowed forces: They’re not loyal to the prince, and using them puts the prince in debt, either literally or in terms of relying on another ruler for monetary...

Shortform Exercise: Combat Luck

Machiavelli argues that not just politics, but all of life, is a struggle between luck or fortune and a person’s abilities. At least half of all events exist outside of our control, but that leaves half for us to manipulate through our own skill.

How has luck played a role in where you find yourself in life today? Have there been times when you overcame bad luck in order to achieve success? Were there times when luck itself was responsible (at least in part) for your success?