An Appraisal of Niccolo Machiavelli’s Political Philosophy

Abstract

The paper argues the thesis that morality is a significant concept in politics, and as such, one cannot divorce it from politics, or else, the very essence of politics, will be drained out that is, any act could be performed which can brutalise the citizens. While philosophers have through the ages been trying to show that morality is inseparable from politics, Machiavelli tried to do precisely the opposite. He tried to remove morality from politics and advised rulers to ignore morality if they want to be successful politicians or rulers. It is a well-known fact that morality is the soul of the society hence, any attempt to remove it from politics, will spell doom for that society. This is because, morality plays its pivotal role in any nation’s development and advancement. It serves as a strong catalyst for nation’s development and progress. It is against this background that the paper strongly argues against Machiavelli’s political philosophy and all that it stands for. In order to achieve its intended objectives, the paper discusses meaning and definition of political philosophy, the task of political philosophy, Machiavelli’s political philosophy and its criticism. The paper concludes that morality plays pivotal role in politics which will of course, catapults the nation to accelerated development.

Keywords: Niccolo Machiavelli, Political Philosophy, Morality, Governance, Development.