Views of Machiaveli & Thomas More on Human Nature

Unlike the cynical Machiavelli, More believed human nature to be good, created by God, and susceptible to great improvement if social, political, and economic conditions were reformed so that human misery were eliminated and that fundamental human virtue were thereby liberated and nurtured. More believed in socialism insofar as it would eliminate private property, which he saw as the root of evil. He believed that when private property exists, and when money dominates all other considerations, then "it is hardly ever possible for a commonwealth to be governed justly or happily." More believes that justice simply cannot exist when the "worst citizens" own the "best things," or "where property is limited to a few." In such a situation, those who have so much are "always uneasy," fearing they will have it taken, and those who have so little "are utterly wretched" (More 38). Where there is no justice, people will believe that there is no reward for virtue, which will result in people behaving according to their lowest standards, rather than according to their highest.

Although More's views reflect a generally positive view of human nature, he is too wise to believe that human beings

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e maintenance of power. The prince "should consider all the injuries he must inflict, and inflict them all at once" (Machiavelli 75), rather than having to deal out his brutality in bits and pieces. The people will be frightened into obedience by the ruthlessness of the prince, and they will be more amenable when he rules more kindly. The long-term effect of his ideas of pragmatic ruthlessness can hardly be said to be the furtherance of whatever goodness might exist in human beings. In fact, to act morally, for the leader, in the conventional sense, is specifically counter-productive to Machiavelli, except when used as a tactic to acquire or keep power. Machiavelli believes that the prince ought to behave effectively, rather than morally, in all situations, with friends or enemies. In "dealing with his subjects and friends" the prince must treat both the same. If he "wishes to profess goodness at all times" he "must fall to ruin among so many who are not good." If he wishes to maintain his power, he must "learn how not to be good, and to use it or not according to necessity (Machiavelli 127). By the phrase "so many who are not good," Machiavelli expresses his view of the basic lack of goodness in human nature. He believes
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Approximate Word count = 1363
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)