Machiavelli believes that a government should be very structured, controlled, and powerful. He makes it known that the only priorities of a prince are war, the institutions, and discipline. His writings describes how it is more important for a prince to be practical than moral. This is shown where he writes, "in order to maintain the state he is often obliged to act against his promise, against charity, against humanity, and against religion" (47). In addition, Machiavelli argues that a prince may have to be cunning and deceitful in order to maintain political power. He takes the stance that it is better for the prince to be feared than loved. His view of how a government should run and his unethical conduct are both early signs of dictatorship.…
In 1494, Florence, Italy was overtaken by France. There the Prince, leader of Florence at the time was the third generation Medici. Given to him was a series of chapters of The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli written in 1513. Niccolo Machiavelli was known for his vast knowledge in politics and literature. Thus after being exiled from Florence by the French, he wrote from experience and vast knowledge to the current prince so he would know how to rule. In order to be a prestige prince, he must always be ready for war, act like a lion and fox, be feared but not hated, and to not take the property of citizen and people, but if it is a new prince having a knowledgeable advisee also…
People who wanted fame and power in this new world of humanism and self-righteousness had to deserve it. No longer did a supreme authority, such as the pope, appoint officials and leaders. The authority rested in the hands of the person willing to take charge. This approach to gaining wealth and power can be described as Machivellian, named so by the influence of ideologist Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli wrote one of the most influential political books of all time, called the Prince, which is considered the most lasting work on Italian Renaissance. In his novel, Machiavelli writes of " cruelty, well used or badly used," and warns the compassionate and humanistic prince "not to make bad use of this compassion".(Burke p.196) Machiavelli expanded on his belief in the Prince, that Italians should behave with ferocity when it comes to politics, and should back up that ferocity with a unified force. Machiavelli's principles have had a profound effect on the way Europe and the rest of the world have viewed politics over centuries, and truly show the Rennaissance's uncanny trait of promoting individualism and social Darwinism.<br><br>The Italian Renaissance has made a major impact on the rest of Europe, leaving an intellectual and artistic heritage that…
In Machiavelli's The Prince, hints of future democratic theories can be pulled out of Machiavelli's plan for the success of a prince of a state. Within Machiavelli's concentration of plotting out successful achievement of a stabilized state within a principality, he often reveals the importance of the satisfaction the people within the governing walls of that principality. One of the themes to Machiavelli's plan included the dismissal of the affection of virtue of the nobility as well as the significance of an honest people. Even though Machiavelli may have had other motivation for the writing of "The Prince",…
Machiavelli was an author and an aspiring political figure who had a strong influence on several aspects of Europe’s government. Due to his critical writings in The Prince, many historians see Machiavelli as a cruel and diabolical political figure whose true intentions were to gain power for himself. However, after looking further into Machiavelli’s political past, one can see that Machiavelli is in fact an intelligent man who possesses a hidden motive to write his novel. In his work, he covered several topics that were used by future city-state leaders to help them become successful. Machiavelli proves to be an astute political mind who used his political experience to assess the actions of famous princes and to write The Prince as a noteworthy…
The Prince was written in the 1500’s by Niccolo Machiavelli, whom name became a synonym for crafty plotting. As noted, it is a political and social document, as relevant today as when it first appeared. Machiavelli’s work became thought of as a blueprint for dictators instead of a guide for efficient democratic government. The Prince does not give us all of Machiavelli’s political thinking; however, he devised this reading for the man who seeks power. It treated the most severe problem of Italy, its inferiority in political organization and military strength to nearby states like Spain and France and was addressed to princes like the Lorenzo “The Magnificent” Medici, to whom it was dedicated. As difficult as it was to read, I did not find…
The Price describes how the ruler should gain, maintain, and increase political power. Machiavelli’s study and beliefs on human nature led him to make noteworthy political statements for the time. Key concepts discussed in The Prince include the fact that a politician should manipulate the people and use any means to gain power. Machiavelli also noted that the prince should combine the cunning of a fox with the ferocity of a lion to achieve his goals, and sometimes would have to put aside his morals when making political decisions. Furthermore, Machiavelli believed that it was desirable for a leader to be both feared and love; but it is difficult to be both at the same time, and it is much safer to be feared than to be loved. Fifteenth century rulers, by part of Renaissance humanism, began the process of order through centralization of power. The rulers employed the aggressive methods implied by the political ideas of the Renaissance to rebuild their governments. Beginning first in Italy, then in France, Spain, and England, the result was the rise of numerous powerful and unforgiving rulers with a common goal in mind: the centralization of power and the abolishment of disorder and violence. The “new monarchs”, Louis XI of France, Henry VII of England, and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, were tough, cynical, and calculation ruler and seemed to be abiding by Machiavelli’s…
Who was Niccolo Machiavelli and how did he believe a ruler should act? He was a civil servant of the Florentine republic and believed a ruler should be efficient in maintaining and gaining power and to not be limited my moral principles…
During Niccolỏ Machiavelli’s lifetime, Italy’s city-states were in turmoil, and he was extremely interested in the politics behind the chaos.1 Machiavelli advised principalities on the proper way to conduct themselves by using his study of human nature. His understanding of human greed, disloyalty, and predictability created a vision of politics that utilizes power for a prince to maintain stability. Machiavelli created power-politics, his vision of how to stabilize a principality, in The Prince.…
Machiavelli's philosophy was that "The end justifies the means." This meant that the end result is the most important, and how you got there was of no importance. The Prince was a book of advice to rules on how to found a state and how to stay in power. Machiavelli explained in his book the many different ways to gain power. One way was to acquire land. The four methods that he discusses to acquire more land is: Your own arms and virtue, fortune, others' arms, and inequity. To Machiavelli, the word virtue meant manliness and strength. Machiavelli also advocates the use of evil to achieve any goals. He gives an example of Agathocles of Syracuse as a proof that this works and will enable the prince to rule the land peacefully through fear. "Born of a potter, this one always had an iniquitous life throughout his years: nonetheless, he accomplished his iniquities with such virtue of spirit and of body that, having joined the militia, he rose through its ranks to become praetor of Syracuse. Being established in rank, and having decided to become prince and to keep with violence and without obligation to others what had been conceded him by agreement... ...one morning he convened the people and the senate of Syracuse, as if he had had to deliberate things pertinent to the republic; and at a preordained nod…
Queen Elizabeth of England was prime example of a Machiavellian leader. She was both loved and respected by her people, was politically and militarily strong, and sly in advancing her career as the monarch of England and leader of the Anglican church. All of which are examples of a Machiavellian ruler. In Machiavelli's The Prince there are many things he entails a prince must be in order to gain and maintain power.…
Niccolo Machiavelli, known as the founding father of modern Political Science, lived between 1469 and 1752 in Florence in what is known today as Italy. He is not only known for his work in politics and diplomacy, as he was also a well-versed historian. He employed the method of citing historic figures and events in his justification for the suggestions he made in his famous book: The Prince. In the book that was dedicated to Lorenzo Medici, Machiavelli raises many important aspects relating to the political environment, governance and ethics of an individual in possession of political power citing political actions that should and should not be taken, the state briefly and violence in governing which is studied by political philosophers today as there are many ancient concepts…
Throughout The Prince, Machiavelli outlines the characteristics needed to be a strong and admirable leader. He explains that personal characteristics such as courage and compassion, both being aspects of virtue, will earn him praise. However, he feels that this expectation is unrealistic and a prince’s first job is to protect the state, and having “bad” characteristics is sometimes necessary to reach that goal. That being said, in order to protect the state a prince may have to act unscrupulously at times which he believes will bring good fortune in the long run. Machiavelli believes that no matter how a prince acts, whether moral or not, virtue and fortune are the two most influential forces in politics and he shows how, throughout history, they have affected different people in powerful positions. Using the lessons learned by previous people of great political power, Machiavelli points out virtues and fortunes present in the particular cases, while then explaining his beliefs and solutions to the examples from the past. Virtue and fortune go hand in hand throughout this guide. One…
Stability in a ruler’s morals and ethics are a vital asset to have when ruling a group of people. With similarities shared between the ruler and the common person the ruler will then be able to relate and be more respected amongst the population, as opposed to a ruler who rules with his own self interest at hand. In the piece, The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli argues the many principles of how a prince should and should not rule. In order to rule successfully he states a prince must possess some of the following characteristics; morality, a strong army, strict rule, common ground with his people and also to be widely respected. Machiavelli laid the ground work for many rulers in the future with his modern view in a time where rulers were primitive and ruled through fear and terror. The Prince and its ideas can even be seen today in our modern day presidents and kings proving that Machiavelli had compelling ideas and arguments for how leaders can obtain and hold a position of power successfully.…
In the same way, talking about his second letter that he called The Discourses, where Machiavelli talks about the different Rome empires and takes them as examples in order to a solid government ruled by one individual. He believed that all periods of time are similar, that is why he used Rome as an example to illustrate what is wrong in a government and the good things (Machiavelli 84-85). One good example that Machiavelli gives in chapter seventeen is about “How corrupt people who came to be free can only hold on their freedom with the greatest of difficulties” (Machiavelli 124). Machiavelli explains that if an individual has become corrupted, there is no chance that they could be reformed, but the only way that a person can be healed from corruption is if they use virtu because they acquire liberty to have the intention to be good and change. “[I]t happens because of the skill [virtu] of one individual who is present by chance, not because of the strength…