ipl-logo

Machiavelli The Prince Political Analysis

966 Words4 Pages

Machiavelli Machiavelli was and continues to be one of the most influential figure in politics. His most famous and widely studied book was The Prince. The Prince depicted Machiavelli’s thoughts on how one obtains and sustains authority, as well as inspiring excellence in future leaders. The problem for some readers is that his methods are perceived to be unorthodox and evil; Machiavelli is a realist and sees the world not as it should be, but how it is. He also believes that the world doesn 't reward those who follow rules, and that political actions should not be limited by morality: basically, humans inherently value nationalism and security which rely on moral flexibility. However, I believe Machiavelli is not a teacher of evil. Throughout the text in The Prince, Machiavelli admits that his prescription for success would not be accurate if it were not for the natural wickedness of man. He writes, “And if all men were good, this teaching would not be good; but because they are wicked and do not …show more content…

Machiavelli makes the argument that if you can be feared and loved than perfect, but if you had to choose a greater good than it would be to be feared. His reason being is that love sustains power up to the point when mans wicked heart finds an opportunity to exploit their Prince. However, fear holds virtuous men back for fear of punishment. This method is not quite useful in a democratic nation, but in Machiavelli’s world this was effective. Oppositions to the use of fear would say that it is evil. To the contrary, evil is the use of evil for evil sake. So genocide and murder is evil, but killing can be justified. Killing can be justified in scenarios like protection, security for the state, and to keep civil obedience (in some cases). Fear is a useful tool of the time and effective if one knows how to wield

Show More
Related

  • The Prince Rhetorical Analysis

    676 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson And Niccolo Machiavelli's The Morals Of The Prince

    762 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Niccolo Machiavelli's Influence On The Enlightenment

    1834 Words  | 8 Pages

    Niccolo Machiavelli and his influence on the Enlightenment Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, also known as the father of “Modern Political Theory” was a well-known Italian diplomat, politician, humanist, historian, philosopher and writer from the era of renaissance philosophy. He belonged to several schools of thought, namely: Renaissance humanism, Political realism, Classical republicanism. His claim to fame was his popular book, “The Prince”, which was a handbook for politicians on the use of ruthless, self-serving, cunning inspiring the term “Machiavellian.” Before he wrote his book, Machiavelli was a diplomat for 14 years in Italy’s Florence Republic during the Medici family’s exile.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Niccólo Machiavelli's The Prince

    1519 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Machiavelli's View On 'Virtu'

    451 Words  | 2 Pages

    When he spoke about those who came to power through wicked actions and gave the example of Agathocles, Machiavelli says that although Agathocles committed cruel actions in order to rule, he still demonstrated bravery and strength of character (29). Machiavelli says that “If you take control of a state, you should make a list of all the crimes you have to commit and do them all at once” (30). That way, you will not have to keep repeating your evil deeds, which will “reassure your subjects and win their support by treating them well” (31). Contrary to Plato, who believes that morality is a part of politics, Machiavelli believes that morality and politics are two separate things, and says that a ruler has to know when their duty is more important than their moral

    Read More

  • Comparing Machiavelli's The Prince And The Discourses

    1492 Words  | 6 Pages

    Machiavelli has clearly started a lot of thought on how the school of Realism operates. Though his view on humans and some of his methods may be extreme, The Prince and the Discourses shows a lot of insight on what do if a prince wants to hold his power and what action should be done to do

    Read More

  • Machiavelli's Use Of Lying And Deception In Politics

    954 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Erasmus Vs Machiavelli

    1034 Words  | 5 Pages

    Machiavelli believed that men will follow a ruler as long as the ruler serves their interests, and a quick to turn against the ruler unless they fear great punishment. Machiavelli would say that it is best to be feared rather than loved as long as the fear does not cause hate, which he believed to be perfectly possible.

    Read More

  • Machiavelli's View On Human Nature

    920 Words  | 4 Pages

    He believes we can be trustworthy but we quickly turn selfish. He mentions qualities that seem to be the right thing to do but shows weakness instead, and it he rules with cruelness then it will make him strong. “We find some qualities that look like virtues, yet-if the prince practices them-they will Be his destruction, and other qualities that look like vices, yet- if he practices them-they will bring him safety and well-being.” Machiavelli’s conception of human nature reflected number of traits that inherent in

    Read More

  • Summary Of Machiavelli's Book 'XV'

    358 Words  | 2 Pages

    Machiavelli's book XV teaches us how a ruler should conduct himself with his subjects and friends. In the mind of this author, he devised to create a more realistic leader than idealist when he pointed out that. "For Many authors have constructed imaginary republics and principalities that have never existed in practice and never could; for the gap between how people actually behave and how they ought to behave is so great that anyone who ignores everyday reality in order to live up an ideal will soon discover he has been taught how to destroy himself, not how to preserve himself. ”(Morgan P.508). Machiavelli recommends to the ruler how to stay in power, and to achieve this goal must develop virtues of nobility and evil if necessary, and should

    Read More

  • The Failure Of Leadership In Machiavelli's The Prince

    981 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Prince, written by Machiavelli, is a candid outline of how he believes leaders gain and keep power. Machiavelli uses examples of past leaders to determine traits that are necessary to rule successfully. Leaders such as the King of Naples and the Duke of Milan lacked military power, made their subjects hate them, or did not know how to protect themselves from the elite, causing them to lose power. He says that these rulers should blame laziness, not luck, for their failures. By looking at these historical successes and failures, Machiavelli is able to develop his own thoughts on how politics and leaders should be in the future.

    Read More

  • The Cruel Ruler In Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

    1033 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, he maintains a harsh perspective on reality. His advice for power leaves no room for compassion. Despite this, he notes that a ruler cannot be hated, for he will lose power so it is important for a ruler to balance his reputation. While it may seem like a fine line to walk, Machiavelli tends to emphasize that it is better to maintain power through fear, rather than compassion. Machiavelli’s critical view leads him to suggest that a ruler should balance being cruel with being hated in order to maintain power.

    Read More

  • Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

    1343 Words  | 6 Pages

    If a leader is too frivolous or too caught up in wanting to be loved, the people will trample over him causing a great deal of chaos. However, a leader should not be hated. The people should have a healthy fear towards him. That is why Machiavelli answers the question, is it better to be feared or loved as follows, “one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved” (188).

    Read More

  • Machiavelli The Prince Essay

    860 Words  | 4 Pages

    Niccolò Machiavelli is definitely a very interesting, and undoubtedly controversial figure in not just philosophy and history over all, but also in reference to political and governmental aspects of society today. The question as to whether The Prince serves an accurate depiction of how politics occurs in modern states appears to me, in a sense, to be a loaded/complex question. I say this based on the notion that from a surface perspective, many of his suggested techniques for government if blatantly applied today would still be viewed as downright tyrannical, villainous, hateful, cruel, diabolical, and treacherous as they have been for over 500 years. However, upon closer inspection and unmasked breakdown of how politics operate in the modern states, his depictions look quite valid, and somewhat accurate, being employed in some form or fashion despite popular belief.

    Read More

  • Idol In The Prince

    1670 Words  | 7 Pages

    His book, The Prince uses Renaissance values and applies them to politics, intriguing most everyone. His book targets powerful men, teaching them how to gain and maintain power. “It is not al all necessary for a prince to have all the good qualities which I have named, but it is necessary to seem to have them” (Machiavelli). Although Machiavelli gained his power, not every man can, so Machiavelli is saying that in order to become an idol, you just have to project the idea of power. People with power are admired, so Machiavelli wrote a book teaching how to gain power, and become and idol themselves.

    Read More

More about Machiavelli The Prince Political Analysis

Open Document