is it better to be feared than loved?
2007-05-31 09:00:32 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
No offense, but Machiavelli is often taken grossly out of context. He actually said the exact OPPOSITE - that an ideal leader is loved by his allies and feared only by his enemies.
Where the quote you're referring to comes in is when he considers which is better if you could only have ONE.
The reason he cites for this is simple: Men are "ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous" and will turn on you and take your kindness for granted in a second, but when their own interests and safety is concerned as it is with fear, they can be trusted much further. As he puts it, "fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails."
While most people leave off Machiavelli at this point, I feel it's important to note a significant caveat that he includes. While fear is all well and good, HATRED is to be avoided at all costs. Hatred will drive people to do foolish things and oppose you given the slightest opportunity.
His prototypical example of this is Hannibal. Hannibal, according to Machiavelli, united disparate warring tribes not just through his competence as a leader, but also through his legendary brutality and ruthlessness. Warlords wanted to take part in his campaigns because they were profitable and they had nothing against him personally (they didn't hate him), but they were kept obedient because they feared to cross him.
Obviously, most of this doesn't apply to individual people. Nor was it intended to. There are very few people in the world who need to fear punishment from ME. If we're talking about these kinds of relationships, I like this quote from Seneca better:
"He who injured you was either stronger or weaker. If weaker, spare him; if stronger, spare yourself."
2007-05-31 12:23:27 · answer #1 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would say that it is better to be loved - and infinitely better.
There can be no happiness in any situation if love is absent - no matter what else one may have - but if love is present, that is all-sufficient, even if there is not much else (love here defined as true concern for the happiness and well-being of others - man/woman love, when it is legitimate and a legitimate expression of love, is its most delightful manifestation on this earth).
I would only want to be feared if it were being feared by an enemy that may wish to attack me - other than that, I can see no other useful purpose to being feared - and even then, it doesn't hold a candle as a value to being loved.
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2007-05-31 09:12:01 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I guess that if you chose that you'd rather be feared than loved, it seems like you want some sort of power or authority over someone so that they would not fall all over you. As if you were a bully or some sort of tyrant over your people, which makes you want to be feared so you can obtain that power. Within fear comes great control over one.
Of course, it depends. If you're in fear of someone, then you're not in control...but you know what I mean.
2007-05-31 12:03:16 · answer #3 · answered by Banana Hero [sic] 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
For a leader, it is better to be feared than loved. But one should never be hated.
If you rely on love as a motivator, then you are at the mercy of the other person's emotions. Fear, however, is something you can control for timing purposes.
2007-05-31 09:13:17 · answer #4 · answered by eddygordo19 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The way to think about it, and I think our dear prince would agree, is that eventually you ( as theoretical ruler/leader) will have a period of political weakness. If you are loved you can leverage that personal power to fight another day, but if you are ONLY feared then you end up hanging upside down from a lamppost while your subjects beat your corpse. Ask Moussilini. The trick is to be loved, but for people to have a healthy respect for your power.
2007-05-31 09:10:52 · answer #5 · answered by zeroambition 3 · 3⤊ 2⤋
no when people fear you they dont want to be with you and consider you a bully. being loved will make people want to be with you and care about u.
2007-05-31 09:10:03 · answer #6 · answered by Aubrey 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. As much as it may feel good to be loved, friends/allies can be prone to betrayal; on the other hand, your enemies learn to respect your abilities and tactics, even though they may despise your character. Enemies can be made into useful tools, whereas friends can become burdensome.
2007-05-31 09:16:10 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
you definitely get more respect being feared. most people treat the ones they love like **** because they can....
2007-06-01 05:02:16 · answer #8 · answered by Andrew E 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Do you really think that God wants us to be feared instead of loved? I don't think he created us to learn to make people fear us. He created us to make us learn to love and be loved.
2007-05-31 09:09:16 · answer #9 · answered by Kathryn R 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋
This is from Mass Effect! :D
2014-02-12 06:56:00 · answer #10 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋