A CONTINGÊNCIA DA POLÍTICA E A NECESSIDADE DA HIPOCRISIA EM O PRÍNCIPE DE MAQUIAVEL

Abstract

In his most famous work, Machiavelli showed how the prince is neverassessed by what he is, but according to what he appears to be. Therefore, thepolitician needs to act as a hypocrite, as a ‘great pretender and dissembler’, tomaintain the support of the people on which his power relies. However, hypocrisydoes not simply mean deception of the ruled by the rulers. Given the social divisionwhich underlies the state, it actually plays a fundamental role in the imaginaryconstitution of a sovereign power capable of imposing unity and stability oncollective life. Our aim is to question the use of hypocrisy in order to emphasize thedistinction introduced by Machiavelli between moral virtue and political ‘virtù’.Furthermore, we will try to demonstrate how it is presented as part of a broaderstrategy against the unpredictable effects of time, symbolized by the metaphor of‘Fortuna’.