Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Niccolo Machiavelli has a reputation as a realist thinker who endorsed fear over love. While it is true that Machiavelli thought that a prince has more control over making his people fear him than he does over making them love him, the emphasis on fear in Machiavelli scholarship has drowned out another important emotion discussed across his works: hope. In this paper, I offer a systematic presentation of the theme of hope in Machiavelli’s political thought. I show that Machiavelli presents hope as an essential part of his definition of a free way of life. I argue that it is important for states, particularly republics, to allow their people to have hope that they can have a role in the governing body that rules over them. I conclude the paper by suggesting that these three affects–fear, love, and hope–must work together for successful Machiavellian politics. Given this conclusion, I demonstrate that the study of politics cannot ignore the importance of affect and the fundamental passions of human beings.