Machiavelli: High School Politics From a Machiavellian Perspective

High school, treasured by some, dreaded by many. The memories and achievements one can make there can be the highlight of one’s life, or the nightmare to haunt forever. Success is only a matter of being able to manage one’s life, and know what one wants, without of course, getting greedy about it. “The Prince,” by Niccolò Machiavelli, has been known for its amazing view on politics and power, that his ideas are still used and discussed. Machiavelli says, “since our free will must not be eliminated, I think it may be true that fortune determines one half of our actions, but that, even so, she leaves us to control the other half, or thereabouts.” In high school, through the various different aspects which include the academic, social, and athletic sides, we can see how fortune can determine our future but also our responsibility to “beat and strike” fortune ourselves.  

Academics can be a great deal in high school, for it then determines what college one goes to, and how well one can lead one’s life into success afterwards. But here, success is all about dealing with fortune and one’s own free will. If one is determined to gain good grades, take rigorous courses and accomplish everything in front of them, then surely one’s fortune will be a good one. For example, say one has to take a major exam, and it seems as though one could do well enough without studying. But here, the right thing to do, is not mock or play with fortune but make sure one gets enough studying and is confident in one’s self to be able to pass the exam. Like Machiavelli said, fortune is a woman, and. We cannot rely on fortune entirely to do everything for one’s self. “A ruler who depends entirely on his good fortune will be destroyed when his luck changes” One has to stand up to fortune and let it know that you will not back down to whatever it might say, one has a say in one’s destiny.

Now, socially, fortune acts in a different way.  People are attracted to good fortune and power, and the more it seems to be achieved, the more followers one has. So in high school, people seem to associate easier with the easy goers, who have everything going their way. Not just because they’re charismatic leaders, but because they’ve managed to get their way into getting things their way, with a little help of fortune. Dreams of being liked by many, popularity, will not come true unless one does something about it. One cannot expect to have fortune do all the work for one’s self. “Fortune is a woman, and it is necessary… to conquer her by force.” If one cannot conquer her by force, then she will take its own path, without one’s consent, whatever one might desire, cannot be done.

Yet another way to consider fortune is through sports and athletics. This is where Machiavelli’s idea of acting on impulse and not carefully planning everything applies. “It is better to be impetuous than cautious” when athletics takes part in one’s life. During a match or game, one cannot plan out how one will play the game in anticipation. One must take decisions during the competition to ensure one’s triumph. As he well explains it, “the cautious man, when it is time to act suddenly, does not know how to do so and is consequently ruined; for if one could change one’s nature with time and circumstances, fortune would never change.” If one relies on what one has designed for life, or in this case sports, when a plan has to be change due to circumstances, one is unprepared and cannot carry on with another plan,

To bring to a close, in different aspects of high school one can see how fortune plays a role in academics, social life, and athletics. “So it is with fortune, which shows her power where no measures have been taken to resist her, and directs her fury where she knows that no dykes or barriers have been made to hold her.” One must be able to control one’s free will and fortune and the same time to be successful in high school in every possible phase.