CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This study determines the perspectives of the UP first year political science

students on the effectiveness of the Machiavellian philosophy on Marcos Regime. This

study will evaluate the awareness and degree of application of the Machiavellian form of

leadership on Ferdinand Marcos leadership. In this chapter, studies that are related to the

researchers’ study are presented to support and help the researchers gather and interpret

data.

According Ranney’s Governing (p.35) a leader is best defined by the status of his

subjects or constituents. A good leader can assure the satisfaction of the people involved.

On the other hand, a bad leader could cause the failure of downfall of a nation. It all

depends on the qualities of the leader leading a nation or group. All leaders employ

different styles, tactics and personalities.

Based on Machiavelli’s The Prince (p.12), “The end justifies the means”. This idea

states that a leader may do anything in order to maintain or improve the welfare of a state.

Nowadays, many adhere to this believing that this path is the best one to take. A dictator

like Adolf Hitler of Germany was proof of an application of Machiavelli’s idea. The World

War II was the effect of this dictator’s idea of expansion for Germany. Hitler believed that

Germany was strong enough to be one of the most powerful countries in the world. Cruelty

and ruthlessness were frequently shown against those who opposed Hitler’s campaign.

This act definitely expresses Machiavelli’s famous words. Another famous person who

had the same concept of leadership was Benito Mussolini. This dictator was famous
because of his tyranny and cruelty in Italy. This means that many had suffered and

became miserable under his rule. Many leaders instill Machiavelli’s idea in leadership.

Another dictator who drastically changed the shape of a nation was Ferdinand

Marcos of the Philippines. Marcos was born on September 11, 1917 and was seated on

December 30, 1965 as the 10th president of the Philippines. Marcos was famous for

building great infrastructures in the country. Under his rule, the Philippines grew

economically and prospered (Spence, 1979, p. 23). He was known for declaring Martial

Law on the Philippines from 1972 until 1981 after serving for two terms as President.

For nine years many people suffered and tried to resist Marcos’s growing reign of

brutality and terror (De Quiros, 1997, p. 56). During all those years of Martial Law,

Ferdinand Marcos and his wife lived a prosperous life. Rodriguez (1985) said that the

Marcos family lived happily like royalty while the nation suffered (p. 97). With Marcos’s

tyranny came strict laws and rules regarding society. These laws prohibited and restricted

some social gatherings and meetings. Policy of curfew was implemented all throughout

the country. From time to time many tried to rebel and fight the tyranny, Marcos’s men

rooted these people out and subjected them to torture. Finally a man name Benigno

Aquino stepped up and rose against his rule. A senator at that time, he was one of the

leaders of the opposition along with some other men. Aquino wanted the Filipino people

to be free from their dictator’s strong grasp. President Marcos then ordered the arrest of

the leaders of the opposition albeit failed in the attempt. Then Ninoy Aquino was

assassinated and the resistance strengthened even more. Aquino’s death enabled the

citizens to work together and fight back. Led by Ninoy’s wife, Corazon Aquino, the Filipino
people held a revolution that finally removed Ferdinand Marcos’s rule as the President of

the Philippines and thus ended his dictatorship and Martial Law.

Ferdinand Marcos believed in Niccolo Machiavelli’s concept of leadership and

the maintenance of power as manifested through his kind of leadership and the policies

and programs he initiated(how) The idea that the end justifies the means can clearly be

seen during Marcos’s regime. Marcos wanted a prosperous nation. Marcos said, “This

nation can be great again. This I have said over and over. It is my articles of faith, and

Divine Providence has willed that you and I can now translate this faith into

deeds”Spence (1979) during his SONA. But for him, in order to achieve it, certain rules

of morality had to be broken and trod upon. Indeed many had suffered for many years

due to his ruthless and cruel ways, but all was done for the nation according to Marcos.

Ferdinand Marcos considered his regime to be the new society. He believed that his

rule would improve the Philippines’s state and empower the country more, be it

economically or politically. Somewhat like the German dictator, Adolf Hitler, Marcos

instilled fear into the hearts of the citizens hoping to achieve a better country for the

Filipinos.