Blog #2 Is it better for a prince to be loved or to be feared?

There are many things that a prince when ruling his country has to be aware of. When reading Machiavelli’s The Qualities of the Prince, my answer to the title question changed from the moment I read the title of this reading to when I finished the reading. Loved was the first answer that came to mind because a prince I assumed would want the respect, love and loyalty from his people and a way of achieving this is to be kind, caring and generous to ones citizens. According to Machiavelli it is best if a ruler be both loved and feared, but if one attribute is lacking then it is far better to be feared than to be loved. It is easy for a prince to have control if he has inflicted fear upon his citizens. People are willing to abide by laws and be good and loyal citizens if fear is inflicted upon them or they are simply afraid to experience fear. Love holds to many false promises, and it will only get people so far. People will only do so much if they know that nothing will happen to them if something doesn’t get done, there is to much self interest involved, if a request doesn’t benefit someone then the majority of the time things will not get done. If fear is the motivation behind choirs and requests getting completed then so be it, if that is what has to be done to get results then the prince should do what ever is necessary to benefit his country in the long run, even if that means dealing or executing particular individuals to better his country. People do not like to be punished, and it allows the prince to be in control of his nation.