Machiavelli Vs. Thoreau Ideologies

Machiavelli in his book The Morals of the Prince maintains the ideal principle that a prince must look out and do what is in the best interests of himself and his kingdom. Regardless of any backfiring or how his subjects might feel on the matter Machiavelli claims that a prince must and should do what he feels is right in the circumstance. Thoreau correspondingly believes that a man must do what he believes is right for him and should not follow the beliefs of other men and follow the bandwagon. Both of these men mutually share the same ideas on how a man should control his actions.

Machiavelli often states that a prince must do what is in the best interests of him and his kingdom, correspondingly Thoreau believes that governments are often unjustified in their actions. Thoreau says “The government itself which is the only mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it.” Thoreau claims here that although the government is the only way a man can execute his wants and needs it can still be abused and corrupted. This is supported by the mere fact that Machiavelli believes that princes must “manipulate the minds of men” and “must learn how not to be good” in order to control his reign and protect his empire.

An apparent relationship between Machiavelli and Thoreau’s writing is that Machiavelli writes for the leader of a monarch while Thoreau writes for the subordinate and the common “man”. Machiavelli writes on how to correctly control a government although it may not be considered morally correct. Thoreau on the other hand writes on how a man should act based on his own morals. Machiavelli shows that leaders have to be feared and run their empires based on cruelty rather than love, they shouldn't be generous and they should manipulate the minds of their subjects. Thoreau writes on how a man should challenge these principles. Thoreau writes so that the subject of said government should go against the rules and laws of the leader and they should do what they feel is right for them rather than what the leader demands.

Throughout all of the ideologies that appear through both texts there is one clear idea that is prominent in both texts. The idea is that people do things because we have to not because we want to. Within Thoreau’s text he explains that men often pay taxes and vote not because they actually want to, but it is due to the fear instilled in them by the government. Within Machiavelli’s text he shows that a prince mustn't be generous or merciful not because of his morals but because of what is best for the government and his supremacy. The idea that doing what we have to is more important than doing what we want to is prominent in both texts.