[Foreign Book] The Nature of Power We Must Be Wary Of

Patrick Bouchard 'Machiavelli'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] A British cardinal shuddered, saying that his writings were written by the devil's finger. The person the cardinal referred to is Niccol? Machiavelli (1469?1527), the author of "The Prince."

Sentences containing Machiavelli's ideas such as "Fear is a much more useful tool than love," "The ends justify the means," and "Deception is valuable for greater benefit" are not very pleasant.

On the 11th (local time), the subtitle of the book "Machiavelli" by French historian Patrick Boucheron, translated and published in the United States, is intriguing. "The Art of Teaching People What to Fear." Were Machiavelli's writings intended for rulers, or for those being ruled?

Boucheron explains that evaluations of Machiavelli's "The Prince" vary sharply depending on for whom it was written. In this regard, the French Enlightenment thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712?1778) mentioned in his book "The Social Contract" that "The Prince" was not written for dictators but to teach the masses what they should fear.

Boucheron only explained that Machiavelli's intention is well revealed in Chapter 15. Machiavelli wrote in Chapter 15, "My intention is to write something useful for discerning intellectuals."

Regardless of whom Machiavelli wrote for, it is enough to accurately understand the nature of power that we must be wary of and cautious about. This is also why "The Prince" continues to be read despite ongoing debates surrounding the figure of Machiavelli.