Analysis Of The Prince By Niccolo Machiavelli

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.

According to each thinker, peace has important significance in each text. Machiavelli believed that, “a ruler must think only of military matters, and in time of peace he should be even more occupied with them than in times of war” (The Prince, 46). Furthermore, “he will never relax during peacetime, but will always be working to take advantage of the opportunities peace presents, so he will be fully prepared when adversity comes. When his luck changes, he must be ready to fight back” (The Prince, 47). Therefore, according to Machiavelli during periods of peace, rulers must always take precautions to prepare for war, for their self-preservation. Furthermore, in The Discourses Machiavelli states the city of Rome, “was a success because of the lengthy period of peace the site they had chosen ensured for them” (85). Peace, is a means to the end, of the true purpose of government, which is to ensure the stability of the state as well as the preservation of the established ruler’s control. Machiavelli states:

For Machiavelli himself, the "bigger objective" was typically not unimportant individual desire yet something like the steadiness or flourishing of a city-state or the unification of Italy under Italian standard. Machiavelli distinguishes the hobbies of the sovereign with the hobbies of the state (a presumption that can unquestionably be addressed!), accordingly directing Renaissance independence. Regardless, Machiavelli was an example of "force legislative issues."

Can five century old ideas still be relevant in modern times? Niccolo Machiavelli, author of The Prince, wrote a book to give advice to rulers both young and old. He introduced a multitude of bold ideas that help a prince rise to power and prosper there. Machiavelli’s concepts include killing off competitors, the prince and army becoming one, and using cruelty to the prince’s advantage. Although The Prince was written over five-hundred years ago, the beliefs of Machiavelli are still useful as shown by Germany’s dictator on the twentieth century, Adolf Hitler.

Niccolo Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469, in Florence, Italy. The Prince was written in 1513 but was published five years after Machiavelli’s death in 1527. Machiavelli wrote the Prince as advice to Lorenzo de’ Medici and as a plea for his position back in the Medici Florentine government. Machiavelli gives great advice on what a Prince should do in order to keep a country under his rule, but his main ideas are that a Prince should not be liked or loved by his people but feared and never hated and that a ruler should be willing to do everything in his powers to keep his kingdom stable, even if that means he needs to lie and get a little violent. When reading The Prince readers can see the ways it is reflected in today’s modern society.

What is a prince? Who is to say what a prince should be? According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, a prince is a “monarch, king; the ruler of a principality or state, a male member of a royal family; especially a son of the king.” In the dictionary definition, there is no mention of the expectations, or the characteristics of a prince. Throughout history, leaders have taken many roles. Some leaders, like Alexander the Great, took the role as an honest, trustworthy prince. On the other end of the spectrum, some princes, like King John, gained fame as evil men that brought terror on their reigned lands. But what should a prince be? Machiavelli, the author of The Prince,

Niccolo Machiavelli, was an Italian diplomat and writer, born on May 3rd, 1469 in Florence, Italy. In his younger years, Niccolo became a diplomat after the downfall of the Medici family in 1494. Machiavelli earned the reputation of vicious since he enjoyed tormenting his associates. In 1512, the Medici family came to power once again and Machiavelli was accused of conspiracy thus was tortured, jailed and nonetheless banished from getting involved in politics and from Florence (Niccolo Machiavelli Bio). After he was exiled to his father’s small property he wrote one of his major works, The Prince. The book emphasizes on the description of how a leader ought to lead his country effectively.

The Prince is a straightforward and educational book written by Niccolò Machiavelli to properly illustrate and advise princes on how to run their territories. Despite being a short book it took me many days to read because of the language used and how in depth the book goes into, what I thought, were some pretty mundane topics. I’m not familiar with how royalty is expected to govern, so I found it difficult to comprehend the politics that Machiavelli described. I discovered, quite quickly, that most of the topics written about in the book could've been summed up in one or two sentences instead of a whole chapter. While some of the chapters were quite extraneous, some made good points quite relative to the subject at hand.

In The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli explores the character that a prince must hold to be successful. The study of war should be a prince's main goal, “…for war is the sole art looked for in one who rules” (Machiavelli 37). Knowledge of war is necessary because it not only keeps princes in power, but can also make princes out of private citizens. If a prince neglects the art of war, he can easily lose a state. Military organization lays the foundation for the stability of the state and is a critical skill for both established and new rulers. There can be no security without military might. Machiavelli develops his idea through example and logic.

“For it must be noted, that men must either be caressed or else annihilated; they will revenge themselves for small injuries, but cannot do so for great ones; the injury therefore that we do to a man must be such that we need not fear his vengeance.”

During the Italian Renaissance, two prominent themes emerged which separated it from the Middle Ages: individualism and humanism. Individualism drove many to want to become recognized as unique, whereas humanism fueled a critical attitude, caused people to question everything around them and focus on the corporeal versus the spiritual. Niccolò Machiavelli, an Italian Renaissance writer, demonstrated a spirit of individualism and humanism through his handbook, The Prince. His views on how to gain and maintain political power became well known, as his ruthless and realistic views mirrored the actions of famous ruling families such as the Medicis. The ideology of his book exemplified the Renaissance movement as seen through Machiavelli’s

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

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.

Niccolo Machiavelli’s abstract work of The Prince discusses politics and government and focuses in not only acquiring power, but also how to maintain it. Throughout his work, one of the most prevalent yet disputed themes is between the acquirement of states between principalities and republics. The Prince shows a predominant and constant debate on which group will excel in acquiring power. However, despite Machiavelli’s harsh criticisms on principalities, his work does not solely praise or focus on the excellence of republics. In fact, as Machiavelli continues to speak and provide examples about the successes and failures of both republics and principalities, it becomes clearer that the lone purpose of The Prince is to merely provide tactics in political governance, instruction on how to maintain power once it is acquired, and most importantly, advice on how to become a great leader.