Is it Better to be Feared or Loved?

If you have never read the The Prince than I would recommend it, but if you don’t have the time then I’ll give you a summary. The Prince is a guide for leaders that describes the different types of monarchies, how to become a leader, and how to hold your position.

The quote that I want to focus on the most is this:

“it is much safer to be feared than loved because …love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.”

Now, this quote is one of Machiavelli’s most famous philosophies, which also happens to be his most misunderstood. It breaks down to feared people will keep their power for longer than loved people because people like to take advantage of loved people. However, Machiavelli is writing this in the context of which one is better if you can’t have both. He would rather have both, that is the strongest combination for clear reasons.

But what if you could only have one would you really rather be feared as opposed to loved? Let’s look at what feared and live in this context to help you decide.

So after looking at the pros and cons what do you think? I’ll let you decide, but remember try to be both if you can!

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