Is there a price to loyalty anymore? I bargain not. The great Machiavelli in his work, The Prince, argued that one cannot “buy” loyalty especially when one’s life is on the line. This is an interesting point. Machiavelli had great contempt for mercenaries. He believed that the mercenary would be happy to accept financial payment for service, but when the going got tough they would flee, and loyalty is then nowhere to be found. This concept transcends the security of noble figures and crosses over into our everyday lives.
When you look at relationships, money is at the root of almost all. Whether it is looked at as “security,” “support,” or “bribery.” In the end, this concept of “wealth” is flawed completely when considering loyalty. Let’s say a man flaunts his status through the showering of gifts and lifestyle to a female. The female will have no sense of loyalty if he were to lose his position of financial status through job loss, or bad investing for example. In other words, when the going gets tough, the disloyal get going! There is no loyalty amongst thieves.
I do believe that loyalty can only begin to form with hardship and time. When one supports another through trials and tribulations that are not their own, only then can loyalty arise. Trust is built through the support of another when the assisting party has nothing to lose but assumes risk by helping the other in distress. This trust is then built upon repeatedly through miscellaneous self-less acts forming loyalty.
Unfortunately, loyalty quickly wanes when the “scales of servitude” are not balanced at any given moment in time. When personal gain outweighs what the other partner is willing to put forth, loyalty takes a backseat. Whether this is the workplace or at home, the outcome is the same.
What may be the most important variable in this loyalty dynamic is holding staunch to a perceived morality or ideology. If one person holds to certain beliefs as “moral” compared to the other, then their loyalty can be blinding even in the face of obvious deception. This moral high ground can spell certain doom for the psyche and overall well-being of oneself. I do believe that realism must be considered when idealism is the natural thought process of an individual. This can allow swift determination of disloyalty and a changing of the guard, therefore, protecting oneself.
In the end, it may be realism at war with idealism. As a long-time idealogue, I find it hard to adapt Machiavellian ways to “win” in this mortal life. On the other hand, when Machiavellian ways are ignored, you are simply turning a blind eye to this world. Machiavelli himself was not an evil person, no. He understood the world for what it actually was, without morals and degenerate. To survive and wield power one must understand this fact. This knowledge was his gift to this world. Betrayal and treachery are around every corner today. Loyalty though, is becoming extinct in this degenerate self-serving technological world we reside in. It is a balancing act with another “performer” whose selfish acts may risk your very well-being! It’s understandable to become dogmatic and never waver in your beliefs. Not everyone is playing by the same “rulebook” though. The question is how much are you willing to “lose” and suffer for blind obedience to your belief system?