An Analysis Of Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

Author: The speaker of the excerpt is Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli is considered to be the first political philosopher. Employed as a diplomat of the state, Machiavelli wrote Histories, a book about the decline of prestige of Italian city-states. The Medici family had a grudge against Machiavelli, and therefore exiled him from Florence. After the powerful Medici family exiled him to his house in the countryside, Machiavelli wrote The Prince in attempt to make his political ideology known, and in hope to be reemployed by the state.

The political situation that prompted Machiavelli to write The Prince was that Italy wasn’t a unified country yet. It was a bunch of city states.

As such, it is very dangerous to impose a new order where one may face attack by hostile forces and have only “lukewarm” defenders of the new order. It is then necessary to examine how the prince will utilize his virtue. If he is to “beg” and ask others for help, he is then seen as week and cannot accomplish his goal. The alternative is to use “force”, to arm themselves, and to literally force those who do not believe in the new order to believe. After all, human nature is changeable and easily changed, but difficult to maintain in a certain persuasion, after which force is necessary to maintain it. And once created through great difficulty, it is then easy to maintain, as under the prince’s rule, the need for force will lessen, since those who would rebel are eliminated and the ruler gains reputation and respect from his subjects.

Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 16th-century. His methods of acquiring and maintaining rule over people are not relevant in today’s modern American society. There are many principles that are still true in politics today, but the methods of ruling can no longer be used in American society today.

As you stare down the barrel of a gun, you may find yourself encompassed by fear and unable to move. Niccolo Machiavelli believed that fear and manipulation were key to dominate men. In Machiavelli’s paper, “The Morals of the Prince”, he educates the reader on what it means to be an effective position of authority- a leader. In light of Machiavelli’s beliefs, this paper will argue that love is more useful than being feared in positions of power, using examples from the educational system, parents, and the law enforcement.

“It is much safer to be feared than loved.” This quotation was just a specimen of the harsh and very practical political annotation of the legendary historian, Niccolò Machiavelli – philosopher, patriot, diplomat, advisor and statesman. He was born as the son of a poor lawyer in 1498, but he never let boundaries restrict him. He still received an excellent humanist education from the University of Florence and was soon after appointed as the Second Chancellor of the Republic of Florence.2 His political importance to Florence would soon give him the opportunity to write what is disputed as one of the most significant works in history, The Prince.

He speaks of both bad and good human nature and how man possesses both. A man is a “fickle creature”, as Machiavelli puts it, and will always lean towards his own self-interest when all things are equal. He also writes that, “...man has qualities that will bring him either blame or praise.” But because The Prince is also a man, he possesses these qualities as well. A prince should always know how to balance out these qualities.

Niccolo Machiavelli and Karl Marx developed theories concerning wealth and poverty in our society, as well as different types of governments. For instance, Machiavelli supported a capitalist economic system, unlike Marx, who embraced socialism in the society. Machiavelli wrote a book "The Prince" that explained how to be an effective leader. The theme of the book is "the end justifies the means." A person could or should do whatever is necessary to achieve the desired goal. According to Machiavelli, there is no concept of a perfect ruler, but only effective or ineffective leaders. Therefore, he claims that there are no fair fighters, but only losers and winners. Contrary, Marx embraced democracy as good practice for the government. This paper will analyze whether Marx would buy Machiavelli 's thought that states "desired ends justify undesirable means" (Weng 1).

Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince examines the nature of power and his views of power are still somewhat in existence today. I'll discuss this in this essay, emphasizing the following theses. Machiavelli discusses power over the people, dictatorial power, and power with people, shared power. While it is possible for power with to attain greater prevalence in society, it will not completely eliminate power over. In The Prince, Machiavelli discusses two distinct groups of people, the political elite, including nobles and other princes, and the general public. Today in the United States, the first group, the political elite, includes political leaders, religious leaders, business leaders and the leaders of

Niccolo Machiavelli is a very pragmatic political theorist. His political theories are directly related to the current bad state of affairs in Italy that is in dire need of a new ruler to help bring order to the country. Some of his philosophies may sound extreme and many people may call him evil, but the truth is that Niccolo Machiavelli’s writings are only aimed at fixing the current corruptions and cruelties that filled the Italian community, and has written what he believed to be the most practical and efficient way to deal with it. Three points that Machiavelli illustrates in his book The Prince is first, that “it is better to be feared then loved,”# the second

Niccolo Machiavelli was the first to clearly decipher politics from ethics by studying politics in such depth and thought. He created the basis of what politics should be and how they are runned for today. His book The Prince is primarily a handbook for all rulers to follow to be the most successful in their reign. His book is considered political realism which means he speaks about only the truth of politics, so it can be used for the practice of governing. Machiavelli’s book is the handbook for obtaining and maintaining power even for today’s modern politics.

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli presents a detailed analysis of how to acquire political power and maintain it. The author discusses how great men should conduct themselves and the desired principles of a princely government. Utopia by Sir Thomas More illustrates what the character Raphael Hythloday, its narrator, suggests to be the perfect human society found in the island of Utopia. This essay looks at why Machiavelli thinks a prince needs to have virtù in order to rule well, and whether Fortuna can actually foster the prince’s virtù. It will also look at the extent to which Utopia provides an argument that a leader has to have virtù in order to govern well. The essay will explore if there is any proof in Utopia that Fortuna plays a role in fostering virtù.

When Niccolo Machiavelli wrote his famous publication The Prince in 1513, he never could have imagined his novel’s legacy, especially in a postmodern world consisting of a majority of democracies rather than oligarchies. More than merely a testament to Renaissance history, the book’s advice is surprisingly pertinent to modern politics, especially concerning partisan feuds within the US. Perhaps the most recently recognized example of this phenomenon is Donald Trump’s controversy over his acceptance of Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer’s and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi’s debt deal. This debt deal passed on September 6th and provided aid for hurricane Harvey victims and raised the debt ceiling (the limit of money the US government can borrow) for three months. Trump accepted the Democrat’s deal just a few hours after it was proposed to him without negotiation or counter-offers - an action nearly unprecedented among Trump’s administration, causing much chagrin among the Republican party, many of whom were highly opposed to raising the debt ceiling. When analyzing Trump’s decision, however, one can conclude his unusual cooperation with the Democrat’s is not foolish, as many have criticized; it is nothing short of Machiavellian. Trump’s actions concerning the Schumer-Pelosi debt deal are arguably verbatim from Machiavelli’s The Prince, based not on the traditional Republican goals to benefit the party, but only to benefit Trump himself.

Those private citizens who become princes through fortune alone do so with little effort, but they maintain their position only with a great deal; they meet no obstacle along their way since they fly to success, but all their problems arise when they have arrives…such men depend solely upon two very uncertain an unstable things: the will and the fortune of him who granted them

In the book, The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli thoroughly explains the lifestyle a proper prince should uphold and the skills/actions he should keep in his arsenal, if the time ever comes. I’ve chosen chapters 15, 16, and 17 to further my claims on whether or not these ideas should be used in today’s government. Chapter 15 mainly focuses on the things for which men, but mainly princes, are praised or blamed for in an everyday society. Chapter 16 touches on how often one should be generous and liberal. Finally, chapter 17, the most controversial chapter of Machiavelli’s book discussed among many, tells the famous line of whether it is better to be loved