Machiavelli The Prince

Despite living thousands of years ago, Socrates and Machiavelli were both influential thinkers whose works are still relevant today. These two great thinkers and philosophers wrote about and extensively studied political systems. The influences of their work can still be seen today in constitutions and governments around the world. Were it not for their transcendent works, there is a real chance today’s systems of government would look very different. While no governments today exactly match those advocated for by Machiavelli and Socrates, their writings surely influenced other thinkers later on in history. Both of these philosophers advocated for different leadership structures with the hope of creating fair and long-lasting states.

“The state is the highest achievement of man, a progressive and elaborate creation of his free will. The individual, the leader, the people, cooperate in maintaining it.” This idea of state was put forth by Niccolo Machiavelli in The Prince, which was in essence a ruler’s handbook to governing and maintaining his land. Machiavelli conjured his theories for government by basing his ideas in his belief that men, especially men in power, tend to follow the same directions, and therefore by looking at past leaders and their follies we can better determine how to run a state. “Men are always the same and are animated by the same passions that lead them fatally to the same decisions, acts, an results…. That one can foresee the course of

Machiavelli was one of the first “modern” political thinkers in the late 1400s and early 1500s. He addresses to a government with principalities, in which the power is either inherited or the power is attained through wickedness.

A ruler needs to have an iron fist yet his people need to know that he cares about their good. A leader without an army is no leader at all. Many people follow the advice of Machiavelli in today’s era. Virtually every country has their own army and in several countries the rulers have tough iron of fist when controlling the country. In America the government does not have a very tough iron fist for the people control the country and have the right to decide what transpires in the country. In Russia one person has all the control and they have a tough iron of fist for they control their people down to the smallest aspect. Machiavelli wrote a very good book full of advice which is useful to the leaders today and the leaders in the

Machiavelli wrote a book titled “The Prince”, but it is not just any ordinary book. It is a rulebook. Specifically on how to lead a country and gain power. In Machiavelli’s “The Prince, he talks a lot about the role of human nature in ruling a state, which also influences his views of government.

This piece is a literature served as a political guide for many leaders and soon became a great influence to many. In this guide Machiavelli’s theory about politics has lasted throughout the centuries and serves as a testament to its greatness and significance. In chapter four of Ellen Grisby’s “Analyzing Politics: An Introduction to Political Science” Ellen discusses about Machiavelli stating “The Prince recommends that states are most effective as maximizing their power if organized along the following lines.” If possible, states should use cultural traditions to justify their use of power.”(Grisby,92). Machiavelli states in order for one to be successful on must avoid pitfalls, and examine the mistakes of failed predecessors.

Machiavelli’s views on republics serve as the first difference between his political views and the American government. Machiavelli generally puts those in a republic in a negative light by claiming that the subjects of a republic are not used to standing up for themselves and cannot agree to give themselves a leader. Therefore, it is not a sturdy government to capture. Instead of finding the idea of no singular person being a leader a good way to ensure statewide cooperation and content, Machiavelli claims that, “In republics there is more vitality, greater hatred, and more desire for vengeance,” (Machiavelli, Chapter V). Which is a far cry to the American government’s oath to all of its freedoms and liberties. Machiavelli moves on to say that the safest way to capture a republic state is to destroy it altogether. This shows his views on republics are very much negative and that he believes they are almost a nuisance to a prince trying to maintain a state. Of course this is a drastic difference to the American government, where its subjects thrive in a republic. In other words, while Machiavelli believes no state could be maintained as a republic, the American government proves that it could still be

Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince was met with much criticism after its publication over five hundred years ago. It was written to guide leaders for a republican form of government. The latter chapters describe the qualities of the ideal leader, or prince, particularly those concerning morals and perception by the public. Machiavelli prioritizes the upholding and maintaining of the government and sacrifices traditional morals. Because of his theory of the qualities a prince should exhibit, he was condemned as evil by many. Machiavelli’s theory that a prince should be stingy, feared, and deceitful is fitting for a modern republican government.

It seems like a cycle of you get what you want, and I get what I want, as long as what I say is done. Democracy in America is the rule of the people, but most of the people in America don't know much on political leadership. Machiavelli understood the place of a prince and the place of his people which he ruled. He knows what it takes to be a leadership and how to obtain the power earned. He also knows that most common people do not know what it takes to be a leader, which leads him to believe that those people

Machiavelli’s The Prince is just as applicable to the lives of leaders in the 1500’s as it is for leaders in modern times. Although any person who is in a position of authority might not say that they use Machiavellian tactics. Through their actions it is evident that the teachings of The Prince are still used on a global scale. Concepts such as safeguarding the state, and becoming wealthy, are just a few of the concepts that are beneficial to a strong government and reflected in current political situations at home and abroad.

1) Describe the political situation that prompted Machiavelli to write The Prince. A: Italy was not a unified country when Machiavelli had written this book. Italy had actually been multiple city-states. One of these city-states was Florence. Florence at the time was under the control of France so when France was taken over by Pope Julius II.

There are many factors that can impact an author's writing which range from ethnical, political climate, social status and current events. Understanding the context behind the piece can help the reader achieve the greater meaning lying within the piece. One such example of this is found within The Prince, an advisory work completed by Niccolo Machiavelli. With the intention of bettering his country, this advisory work provided the high nobility of Italy a take on rule that would allow one to effectively control and gain the respect of his subjects through means that we would claim to be questionable and dictatorial. Another piece that has been affected by setting is Dante’s Inferno. Following the journey of a pilgrim’s descent into the underworld,

Niccolo Machiavelli is a very pragmatic political theorist. His political theories are directly related to the current bad state of affairs in Italy that is in dire need of a new ruler to help bring order to the country. Some of his philosophies may sound extreme and many people may call him evil, but the truth is that Niccolo Machiavelli’s writings are only aimed at fixing the current corruptions and cruelties that filled the Italian community, and has written what he believed to be the most practical and efficient way to deal with it. Three points that Machiavelli illustrates in his book The Prince is first, that “it is better to be feared then loved,”# the second

Relying on the needs of the society of that time, Machiavelli comes to the conclusion that the most important task is the formation of a single Italian state (Machiavelli 15). Developing his thoughts, the author comes to the following inference: only a prince can become a leader capable of leading people and building a unified state. It is not a concrete historical personality but someone abstract, symbolic, possessing such qualities that in the aggregate are inaccessible to any living ruler. That is why Machiavelli devotes most of his research to the issue of what qualities should the prince possess to fulfill the historical task of developing a new state. The written work is constructed strictly logically and objectively. Even though the image of an ideal prince is abstract, Machiavelli argues that he should be ruthless, deceiving, and selfish.

Niccolo Machiavelli’s abstract work of The Prince discusses politics and government and focuses in not only acquiring power, but also how to maintain it. Throughout his work, one of the most prevalent yet disputed themes is between the acquirement of states between principalities and republics. The Prince shows a predominant and constant debate on which group will excel in acquiring power. However, despite Machiavelli’s harsh criticisms on principalities, his work does not solely praise or focus on the excellence of republics. In fact, as Machiavelli continues to speak and provide examples about the successes and failures of both republics and principalities, it becomes clearer that the lone purpose of The Prince is to merely provide tactics in political governance, instruction on how to maintain power once it is acquired, and most importantly, advice on how to become a great leader.