The Prince Still Relevant Today
The Prince, written by Niccolo Machiavelli, is an informative gateway into his philosophies of what made a perfect government in a time where princedoms and monarchies were the primary form of government. In today’s societies, many people believe that since his work is an analysis of monarchies, that it no longer holds value in comparison to democracy. However, ‘prince’ and ‘political leader’ can be interchanged, despite respective differences of the current and past influence that these figures possess. Many themes discussed in The Prince are still highly relevant today, including characteristics of a strong leader, righteousness of actions, and military structure. Machiavelli addressed many themes such as the characteristics that a prince
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Throughout chapters XII through XIV specifically, Machiavelli explains that (“The main foundations of all States, whether new, old, or mixed, are good laws and good arms.” Machiavelli p.31). He then goes on to explain that you cannot have good arms without good laws. This is extremely applicable in today’s world; if we had bad laws, then not only would our country be in anarchy, but our military would be peacekeeping our own states, and therefore be entirely ineffective. Without proper laws in place, our country could deteriorate itself from the inside out, and a princedom could be …show more content…
He continues explaining the effectiveness of each type, which will always correspond to the militaries of today and the future. He explains that mercenaries are not to be trusted in any way, and to expect them to leave whenever it benefits them to do so. Although there are fewer mercenaries in the world today there are still a handful, most commonly found in small private military corporations like Academi (formerly Blackwater). Auxiliaries are troops sent from (“a potentate whom you summon to your aid” Machiavelli p.34). A modern example of this would be France, where NATO has been supporting them and helping to protect them as they recover from terrorist attacks. As for countrymen, they are the most reliable type of soldier. They are serving not only for compensation, but to protect their homes and families as well, and can almost always be trusted to stand their ground in a war. For a modern example of this, one could literally look to any nation, as all have soldiers willing to protect their
Throughout chapters XII through XIV specifically, Machiavelli explains that (“The main foundations of all States, whether new, old, or mixed, are good laws and good arms.” Machiavelli p.31). He then goes on to explain that you cannot have good arms without good laws. This is extremely applicable in today’s world; if we had bad laws, then not only would our country be in anarchy, but our military would be peacekeeping our own states, and therefore be entirely ineffective. Without proper laws in place, our country could deteriorate itself from the inside out, and a princedom could be …show more content…
He continues explaining the effectiveness of each type, which will always correspond to the militaries of today and the future. He explains that mercenaries are not to be trusted in any way, and to expect them to leave whenever it benefits them to do so. Although there are fewer mercenaries in the world today there are still a handful, most commonly found in small private military corporations like Academi (formerly Blackwater). Auxiliaries are troops sent from (“a potentate whom you summon to your aid” Machiavelli p.34). A modern example of this would be France, where NATO has been supporting them and helping to protect them as they recover from terrorist attacks. As for countrymen, they are the most reliable type of soldier. They are serving not only for compensation, but to protect their homes and families as well, and can almost always be trusted to stand their ground in a war. For a modern example of this, one could literally look to any nation, as all have soldiers willing to protect their