Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a political phenomena called The Prince to state how a leader should rule his country. He stressed the importance of retaining power by have the support of your people and stabilizing a government. To maintain the support of your people you must be both feared and loved by being cruel, but morally right. Niccolo claims that another balance must be struck between being stingy and liberal. Our republican form of government could use such ideas as Machiavelli states to fortify our country.
A Prince has to retain his power in order to stay relevant. The support of his people is a must. A stable government is just as important as the people's support. A government must be strong and to do that a prince …show more content…
Fear can lead to hatred and loss of support by the people. Although being feared can get the people to respect a Prince and obey him. Love can lead to people being more likely to conspire against the prince. They'll be less likely to turn against a prince they fear than someone they love. Although being loved means people want to be around the Prince always and never avoid him as a leader. Easier to motivate people that want to listen to the prince. An example of a leader who is too feared is Kim Jong-il. “(Kim) held power for more than 17 years by imposing a climate of fear and a “military first” policy that favored the country’s armed forces.” (Dan Southerland, RFA Executive Editor) Kim had no love or respect from his people, he slowly starved his economically weak country and people for many years. It's impossible for a leader like him to strike fear into his people to create peace. In spite of the fact Kim Jong held power for seventeen years ,which you could make a case for him being feared helped him retain power. After he died, his son Kim Jong-un came to power. Kim “...executed or removed many senior officials that he had inherited from his father’s regime.” (Biography.com Editors) Another example of an overly feared leader who put military strength over his economy and people. A prince should never be like this, a balance must be found. Machiavelli stated “...every sensible Prince wishes to be considered merciful and not cruel.” A Prince and be feared without becoming cruel. It's easier to manipulate people who love you, but when feared, they'll respect a prince as well. “And if he does need to take anyone's life…there is proper justification and clear case.” Machiavelli claims cruelty is kinda a one time thing if it's necessary, laws justify the reason why the Prince is being cruel. People will not hate the prince for this but more likely to