Machiavellis The Prince Essay - 1225 Words

â€Å"The state is the highest achievement of man, a progressive and elaborate creation of his free will. The individual, the leader, the people, cooperate in maintaining it.† This idea of state was put forth by Niccolo Machiavelli in The Prince, which was in essence a ruler’s handbook to governing and maintaining his land. Machiavelli conjured his theories for government by basing his ideas in his belief that men, especially men in power, tend to follow the same directions, and therefore by looking at past leaders and their follies we can better determine how to run a state. â€Å"Men are always the same and are animated by the same passions that lead them fatally to the same decisions, acts, an results†¦. That one can foresee the course of†¦show more content†¦That was the case even up to the early and mid-twentieth with commanders-in-chief such as Theodore Roosevelt, a cavalry commander and navy man, or even Dwight D. Eisenhower, a supreme commander of the Allied forces in World War II. These men, as Machiavelli described, knew the art of war first hand, but as the years passed and our nation become more industrious and powerful, the idea of having war as you’re first and foremost area of knowledge and interest slowly drifted into the background. And while quite a few of former twentieth and twenty-first century presidents had served in the armed forces in some capacity, they were and continue to be far from Machiavelli’s ideas of a solely war driven leader, in our country. Even though our leaders today are not necessarily war-driven men, they do still hold to the fact that military strength and power are important. This is shown in many different areas, first men and women are being constantly trained and recruited to our armed forces; whether it be army, navy, marines or some other division, these people make-up the strong military that backs our president and country. Not only is our military strength in our arme d forces, but in our knowledge as well. Many mathematicians and scientists around the country work everyday on developing new weapons, and putting them to work for our military. Machiavelli not only outlines the importance of military readiness, but also the very characteristics a prince needs in order toShow MoreRelatedThe Prince by Machiavelli1057 Words   |  5 Pagesconquer, an exiled Machiavelli wrote the book The Prince to give politicians a basis on how to rule a nation and as a way to continue to make a statement in Florence’s politics. The book itself was unlike the regular â€Å"mirrors for princes†, in a sense that instead of telling the prince how to be morally sound it told him how to be effective as a ruler. Within the book there were three characteristics that were expressed that can be considered of high importance for every prince/ruler. These threeRead MoreThe Prince, By Machiavelli1517 Words   |  7 PagesIn The Prince, Machiavelli doesn’t hesitate to recommend that a ruler employ conventionally immoral methods against his own subjects to maintain authority over them, but he does imply that whatever a ruler does sho uld ultimately benefit the community. A Prince’s actions may be cruel, manipulative, or otherwise immoral, but they put him in the position to govern. On occasion, Machiavelli even suggests that gaining power through immoral acts is the best way to improve a community because immoralityRead MoreThe Prince Of Machiavelli s Prince1186 Words   |  5 Pagesleader that wields his power the most like Niccolo Machiavelli’s Prince, from his book The Prince, that leader is President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation. Although, Putin does not hold the title of Prince, he has held influential positions throughout the years, i.e. Prime Minister and Acting President, that hold power similar to the Prince. Every position that Putin has held in Russia he has acted as if he were a Prince. Putin has held such all-consuming control and influence over RussiaRead MoreThe Machiavelli And Machiavelli s The Prince2348 Words   |  10 PagesI have always found great interest in the infamous Niccolo Machiavelli and his ways of thinking; my eye was drawn to him long before I knew I would be studying at Colorado State and even before I had any interest in politics. It was from young man know as Tupac Shakur, and let me tell you it is great to finally understand who Machiavelli is and the things he has done for the outlook on politics after hearing about how much respect and praise he got from the iconic rapper of the 1990s. In this paperRead MoreThe Prince by Nichollo Machiavelli1020 Words   |  4 PagesNichollo Machiavellis book â€Å"The Prince† was published in 1532 and ever since then, has been a handbook used by many throughout history to staying in power. In this book Machiavelli uses his experiences through his position in the both the government and the military, to give advice to others who are either seeking power or trying to remain in power. The book is divided into several chapters, each giving situation specific advice on how one should rul e to obtain power or remain in it One can seeRead MoreThe Prince By Niccolo Machiavelli1472 Words   |  6 Pages The Prince by: Niccolo Machiavelli really tries and is successful at dividing politics and ethics to decipher the characteristics of a good and bad political/government ruling leader in this novel. In this reading, I seen 5 points that Machiavelli talked about, and those were: Free Will, Being Hated vs Goodwill, Virtue, A Good Military, and finally Human Nature. These are a necessity to the recipe that Machiavelli is making in this book. In the first few chapters of the book, Machiavelli beginsRead MoreThe Prince Machiavelli Analysis1490 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout The Prince, Machiavelli advocates for the use of force to achieve the Prince’s goals. However, these acts are justified because they are done to benefit the state. Moreover, Machiavelli’s political philosophy repetitively stresses the fact that the Prince should not act in a way as to cause hatred. In this, constant cruelty is inappropriate and unjustifiable because it provokes contempt towards the ruler. In The Prince, Machiavelli discerns that good acts of cruelties â€Å"are carried outRead MoreMachiavelli s The Prince By Niccolo Machiavelli1943 Words   |  8 PagesNiccolà ² Machiavelli’s The Prince is a book that examines the qualities and strategies required for a ruler in order to maintain power. Despite being composed in the 16th century, the ideas presented are applicable even to mythical kings from texts over a thous and years ago. Throughout the story of Seneca’s Oedipus, substantial connections could be made between Oedipus and The Prince’s ideas of rule, such as methods in acquiring principalities, channeling subjects’ fear, the use of cruelty and controllingRead MoreComparing Machiavelli And The Prince902 Words   |  4 PagesDave Licause European History Machiavelli and the Prince Machiavelli is one of the greatest and most widely recognized humanist authors. Machiavelli received a classic middle class renaissance humanist education. The Prince most apparent departure from the humanist narrative is the separation of politics and ethics. Machiavelli, in the Prince, creates the first modern political treatise. Machiavelli had an interest to practically deal with the creation of a new government in Florence by the Medici’sRead More machiavelli and the prince Essay1990 Words   |  8 PagesMacchiavelli and The Prince nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;At the end of the 14th century, Italy was still politically organized by city-states. Emerging as one of the most influential writers of the Renaissance, Niccolo Machiavelli was a political analyst, whose aim was to free italy from foreign rule, as well as to unite and strengthen the Italian city states. Machiavelli believed Italy could not be united unless its leader was ruthless. In 1513, he wrote his best-known work, The Prince, in which