ssue is the stability of the government. Machiavelli believes that people who remember the old ways of life and of government will be the most dangerous to a newly established form of rule. This is especially true of those who once lived in a state of liberty. In Machiavelli’s view, the only way to retain power in such situations is to destroy the city and scatter its original inhabitants. Another method is to create an elite class that is loyal to the ruler. This class will be a guard against threats to the ruler’s power because it was created by the ruler. If power changes hands, then those making up this class will lose their elite status, or even their lives. In the case of a people who had been ruled by a monarchy, the prescribed method for keeping power is different. One must eliminate the remnants of the former ruling class (i.e. the deposed royalty) and essentially live among the people (p. 429). Eventually the populace will forget about the previous ruler and submit to the new ruler’s authority, provided that the new ruler is careful about becoming a hated figure. But the establishment of stability in any government is the key to ensuring that one can retain power. The key to establishing stability in government, then, is to keep those who are being ruled happy.One of the important distinctions between Machiavelli’s philosophy of government and Plato’s is the role of the populace. As has been stated, Plato wishes to keep the masses in their places and establish an order to the State through classism. On the other hand, Machiavelli has much less concern for order than he does for stability, and a happy populace is a stable one. He goes so far as to suggest that a ruler arm the people, for when a ruler does so, the people’s arms become the ruler’s own (p. 457). Furthermore, he states that a ruler who arms the people will invariably win their support and loyalty, and that th...
