The Prince book club questions

The reading plan

Meeting 1: Chapters 1 to 12

1. Does familiarity give an inherited ruler a fair claim to loyalty, or merely an advantage?
2. Which seems most damaging to a conqueror: disappointing subjects, neglecting allies, or strengthening rivals, and why?
3. What might the fiercer resistance of republics suggest about what makes political loyalty last?
4. If lasting power depends on enforcing change, how much credit should founders receive for recognizing opportunity?
5. How much control can a ruler reasonably expect when building independent foundations cannot remove the dangers of illness and political choices?

Meeting 2: Chapters 13 to 25

6. When foreign military help creates dependence, what would make accepting it worth the risk?
7. What limits, if any, should apply to judging good and bad qualities by their practical effects?
8. Is seeming stingy a reasonable cost of protecting subjects from taxes, or does reputation deserve greater weight?
9. How convincing is the distinction between inspiring fear and causing hatred?
10. Can the appearance of virtue still have value when it helps rulers disguise broken promises?

Meeting 3: Chapter 26 to Part 28

11. What should take priority in answering a country's suffering: uniting native soldiers or reforming military practice?
12. How does the call to liberate Italy change the weight you give the earlier warning about foreign military help?
13. Was accepting assurances of peace a reasonable gamble for the rebel commanders, or should distrust have guided them?
14. How does the trap at Sinigalia affect your judgment of disguising broken promises for political survival?
15. How should Castruccio's rise from abandoned child to ruler affect the way we judge his use of war and deception?

Themes to talk about

Tips for the host

1. Open each meeting with one question everyone can answer, then go deeper.
2. Anyone who fell behind can catch up with the 15-minute summary.