How Princes Should Act Chapters 16 to 23 of The Prince are concerned with answering a number of questions a ruler may have when conducting the affairs of state and since a ruler acts out of necessity for the state, the advice given reveals what Machiavelli believes about the state (Nederman (2014), chapter 2). Machiavelli regularly employs historical examples or analogies in order to explain the political utility of decisions made by rulers and is much less concerned with the perception of a ruler by the subjects. Since the perception of the ruler is of little concern, legacy should not be a concern for a ruler because the only legacy worth remembering is the continued success of the state. This is however not usually the case because the masses are more likely to remember a person for their vices; Adolf Hitler and Germany comes to mind as an example where the state grew stronger but the leader is remembered as indisputably evil. …show more content…
The reasoning behind this is simply a matter of economics and resources a state has at hand. In order to be generous one must have excess resources to give away and eventually a state will be depleted of excess. To maintain the generous reputation a ruler would have to raise excessive taxes or else face backlash from the people for withdrawing generosity. Machiavelli would likely be at odds with the welfare-state because people are given generous financial support with the burden being returned to the people through high taxation. It is better to be an ungenerous ruler because they will be able to conduct the affairs of state without excessive taxation. Eventually, the negative reputation of a lack of generosity will fade because the state will be able to defend itself and fund important projects due to its frugal
President Obama echo a leadership of both Niccolo Machiavelli "The Qualities of the Prince" and Martin Luther King Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail". Machiavelli point of view to become a successful prince was that you must lead your people. He talks about how a prince should appear to his people for authority. There are different types of principles such as war and is it better to be loved or feared.
In The Prince (1532), Machiavelli lists elements a prince should have. The biggest thing Machiavelli cautions against is breeding hatred. He claims that “[…] a wise prince should establish himself on that which is in his own control and not in that of others; he must endeavor only to avoid hatred” (Machiavelli 82). Hatred will lead to loss of control. If the civilians hate the prince, then they have control over him.
In Niccolo Machiavelli's book, The Prince (1513), he evaluates on how a prince can be a successful leader. Machiavelli’s purpose of this guidebook was to construct his argument to the rising ruler Giuliano de Medici for when he comes to power in Florence. He adopts a casual but authoritative tone in order to convince the prince that Machiavelli’s evaluation on how to be the best prince, is the right thing for the prince to do without coming off as he knows more than the prince or is trying to intimidate him.. Machiavelli’s reference to previous rulers and whether their tactics failed or succeeded helps to benefit his credibility along with his allusion to historic text. He appeals to our logic by simply stating a prince can only do what is within his power to control, and his use of an analogy furthers his argument.
Machiavelli argues the perfect prince will be both feared and loved by his people, and if unable to be both he will make himself feared and not hated. Machiavelli believes it is much safer to be feared than to be loved because people are less likely to offend and stand up against strong characters, also people are less concerned in offending a prince who has made himself loved. Accordingly, Machiavelli believes generosity is harmful to your reputation and the choice between being generous or stingy, merciful or cruel, honest or deceitful, should only be important if it aids the prince in political power. All in all, Machiavelli believes the ruler must be a great deceiver and do what is essential to uphold power over the
Machiavelli believes that it is better to have ministers than nobles because any and all ministers powers belong to the prince but when it comes to nobles/barons they acan be easily swayed and would make victory for the enemies easy by opening
In the book, Machiavelli believes in the idea of having a strong dominant leader, in order to preserve the benefits to the citizens as a group instead of individually. This strategy clearly shows in chapter seventeen where Machiavelli points out that every prince would prefer to be loved than to be feared. However, the two rarely co-existed. If one had to choose, it is not only better to be feared than to be loved but it is also much “safer” looking at it realistically. By safer, it means that you will not have to worry and watch out as much since people will be less likely to conspire against someone they fear than someone they love.
In Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, he maintains a harsh perspective on reality. His advice on how to maintain power leaves no room for compassion or generousity. While some may believe that these are qualities of a good person, Machiavelli believes these qualities lead to the downfall of rulers. He acknowledges that, in reality, it is impossible for someone to have qualities of a good person and simultaneously a good ruler. Machiavelli’s realistic outlook causes him to emphasize that it is better to maintain power through fear, rather than compassion.
Furthermore, princes themselves are privy and subject to primordial inclinations which effectively gauge their political agenda. Having already established the Machiavellian virtue, its analysis within the work can be commenced in the understanding of the apolitical nature of the people. In civil principalities, since order is vested in the people, the Prince must cater to their needs despite whether or not one becomes prince through them or the great (40) since “men willingly change their lords in the belief that they will fare better” (8). When Machiavelli speaks of the necessity of the Prince keeping the people friendly, a social contract is implied. Yet, it is in terms of what would be beneficial to both parties but is dictated by the Prince
One aspect of Machiavelli’s theory which significantly contributes to his reputation as the “philosopher of evil,” is his advice to the prince on keeping their word to the public. In chapter eighteen, Machiavelli states, “a wise ruler cannot, and should not, keep his word when doing so is to his disadvantage, and when the reasons that led him to promise to do so no longer apply” (pg. 37). To simplify, Machiavelli says princes are obligated to lie in certain circumstances. He also states that while it is unnecessary for the prince to have positive qualities, such as honesty, trustworthiness, sympathy, compassion, or be religious, it is essential for the prince to be viewed so by the public (pg. 37). While many people argue that Machiavelli’s legitimization of lying and deception in politics is immoral, I argue the opposite.
The Father of Modern Politics, Niccolo Machiavelli, was born in the year 1469, during the period of the Italian Renaissance. Little is known about his early life, but it has been speculated that he attended the University of Florence. The point at which we know the most about Machiavelli is from the beginning of his political career onwards. He was appointed Second Chancellor of the Republic of Florence, after the overthrow of the Medici family. When the Medici regained power, Machiavelli was accused of plotting against them and tortured and imprisoned for a period.
Both of these highly influential authors had different opinions on ruling that would shape how people would rule during their time and for rulers to come. One of Machiavelli’s major points in The Prince was that it was better to be feared than to be loved. He said this was because while both ways can be useful tools to help one rule, men are less likely to turn a ruler if they were afraid of punishment. Machiavelli had little faith in the common man and had this to say about them, “They are ungrateful, fickle, deceptive and deceiving, avoiders of dangers, eager to gain”(pg.353).
The contemporary world has been referred to by many names. The modern age is considered to be the age of information or the age of technology. Though these different names do not define the Zeitgeist of today’s world, they all point to main cultural functions that can be observed and seen. The spirit of the times of today’s world is the idea of selfish individualism, or ego. Machiavelli states that human nature is cruel and self-interested.
“The Prince” was written by Machiavelli with the intention of influencing or advising the minds of rulers. He starts off by stating that he, as an ordinary citizen, knows more about ruling than a ruler himself. He gives the analogy “a person standing on a mountain is best positioned to survey the landscape below, and a person standing below is best positioned to survey the mountain.”. Each chapter explains a different principle in more detail. He then proceeds by classifying the various kinds of states: republics, hereditary princedoms, brand-new princedoms, and mixed principalities.
Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, and best known for writing "The Prince", that is handbook for unscrupulous politicians. He got education by educated himself in his father's library. He was also established as the Father of Modern History. "Machiavellianism" is a widely used, negative term, to characterize politicians often associated with deceit, ambicion, brutality and corruption. These were the kind of politicians Machiavelli described of his famous book The Prince.
In Chapter 18 of The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli, his claim is that you don’t have to have morals, just make it appear to others that you do. I disagree with Machiavelli’s claim because of how I personally view the world. Additionally, the reason Machiavelli’s claim is wrong is because one should always be morally true with their people and not deceive them. In Chapter 18 he writes, “ But it is necessary to know well how to disguise this characteristic, and to be a great pretender and dissembler; and men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.” This quote refers back to Machiavelli’s claim that you should lie all the time because people