The depiction of violence and justification in Machiavelli's 'The Prince'. A brief overview

Essay from the year 2020 in the subject Philosophy - Early Modern Philosophy (approx. 1350-1600), grade: First Class Honours, London School of Economics, language: English, abstract: This essay argues that Machiavelli's depiction and justification of violence in 'The Prince' follows from a consequentialist view in which violence can and should be used by a prince in order to provide order and stability to the people if necessary. Machiavelli is not trying to argue whether the act of violence itself is ethically right or wrong. His aim in 'The Prince' is to assess the effectiveness of actions that serve the prince's goals, namely, order and stability for himself and the people, where violence and cruelty are normal political tools a prince can and should use for his advantage.