icult for the morally good person to complete a certain task, than it is for the “bad person” to complete the same task because, although they both have the same skill and resources, the morally good person must not only find the solution to the task at hand but also make sure it abides by his morals. The “bad person” doesn’t have to pursue anything else after having found the solution. Machiavelli has been long, “… condemned [for] the way he approves of cunning, deceit, and outright lying as means of staying in power.” He believes in cutthroat, backstabbing methods of maintaining control of society. This argument seems feasible because society only abides by the laws enforced upon it because their consequences are worse than their payoffs (when the probabilities of occurrence are accounted for). If the scenarios were reversed, and people were not punished for their wrongdoings, then there would be chaos. This leads to another one of Machiavelli’s questions, how cruelty and mercy should be used to maintain order. Machiavelli believes that cruelty and mercy are tools, which in accordance with one another, can make or break an empire. “Every prince,” Machiavelli says, “must desire to be considered merciful and not cruel; never the less, he must take care not to misuse this mercy.” An individual, who has been told that cruelty is never a good thing, and that mercy is tool that can never be over-used, can be misled into believing it. Cruelty is a vital tool used for discipline. It maintains order and structure within a society and instills fear when necessary. This, in turn, leads to another question Machiavelli asks, whether it is better to be loved or feared? Machiavelli states that a happy medium between love and fear is desirable, but this is a very difficult accomplishment to achieve. Therefore, if you must be one or the other then, “it is much safer to...
