The Prince

How does Machiavelli justify being miserly as a leader?

list the major reasons for this assertion: “ and a prince should guard himself above all things against being despised and hated and liberality leads you to both

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Machiavelli distinguished between two forms of miserliness. He notes that being miserly allows for increasing the treasury (taxes), but that it also angers the citizenry because there is no benefit to themselves, thus, they are despised and alienated from the citizenry. Liberal miserliness, however, also increases the treasury and keeps the people happy (somewhat), as the occasional freebie aimed at the people leads the citizenry to believe the Prince is being liberal. In essence, Machiavelli is saying that it is best to be miserly in order to be considered liberal.

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The Prince