It is 1513, Niccolo Machiavelli has just rested his pen on the desk after having completed his work The Prince; a book full of political ideology constructed on scientific and empirical principles. The outcome of Machiavelli’s arrest in 1512 when Medici, a political dynasty, came to power in Florence.
The Medici dynasty assisted to elect four Popes, including Pope Gregory XV, of which the phrase ‘Propaganda’ (to mean biased information) came to use during the conception of the Gutenberg Press when works were aggressively printed by the Catholic Church and the reformers as a way to propagate the faith. A sort of faith-gate.
Gutenberg’s Press began in the mid-1400’s and Niccolo Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, would have queued behind many theological works to be spread around Europe. It is due to this that The Prince is considered by some to be the first modern work of Political Philosophy. An important political masterpiece with controversial undertones but essentially a PR stunt…
The clue is found by who Mr Machiavelli decided to dedicate his book to, none other than Lorenzo II, in a bid to win favour with the Medici. It didn’t work.
At the University of Gloucestershire one of the modules deals with ethics in Public Relations. A term which holds a relative nature dependent upon the fibre of the individual. For some the only ethic is to please the client and to gain the cash. When dealing with Public Relations the ethical boundaries are often blurred between your perspectives and the company’s. A distinction often made by holding the phase ‘Machiavellian’ as a derogatory term. In our modern free-spoken society the idea that one man should lead many as a ruler, to be an ideal Prince, is a travesty. Especially when Niccolo Machiavelli’s humanist views are concerned; it seems celestial ownership is not gratified due to the lack of power this would provide the House of Medici. Considering the close ties with the Catholic Church this makes for a compelling and destructive assumption.
Taking the foundations from The Prince and marrying them to the realities of working with a PR agency is slightly out of context. The basic stance within lectures is to focus on the elements of dictatorship within The Prince. Liking such power to that of a mediator discussing events with the public.
The way in which Machiavelli blurs the boundaries between good and evil, monarch and tyranny, sets out the moral framework of the book of which The Prince holds supreme power. In true empiricist fashion an absolutist ethical framework does not exist but instead a relativism which is dictated by the one in power.
When considering Public Relations such distinctions could be made to incorporate the way in which individuals view life. Acceptance of a relativist ethical framework could allow Public Relations practitioners to choose options more suiting towards their selfish means (for example, supporting a Tobacco firm due to profits). You are said to be Machiavellian, caring only for the gain and not the larger scheme of life.
Yet saying that such things as Machiavellian ethics in Public Relations seems to miss the point of Machiavelli’s works. For The Prince, strongly worded and, in my opinion, well argued, is but one of Machiavelli’s works. Those who have read Discourses will see a liberal Machiavelli of which distorts The Prince to show its true colours, a failed method for Machiavelli to gain power from his adversaries.
So whenever I heard Machiavellian ethics being mentioned in lectures, I just remember that being called Machiavellian isn’t all that bad.
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