The Prince, the Social Conflict and the Construction of a Collective Identity in Machiavelli

Abstract

This text aims to examine the way in which a collective identity is constructed in Machiavelli’s The Prince, as well as the limits of this construction. First, we seek to demonstrate the primacy of social conflict over all other elements considered by Machiavelli, including the prince. Next, we seek to indicate the complexity of this determination, as the prince’s action also affects the aforementioned conflict by influencing it. Finally, since Machiavelli rejects the middle way (via del mezzo), the “prince” (principe) must rely either on the “great” (grandi) or on the “people” (populo). We seek to demonstrate that the maintenance of the principality comes from the popular humour, while the “people” want “not to be commanded or oppressed”, in order to identify in this relationship not only the process of building a collective identity – which is effectively established in favor of freedom – but also its limits.