Impact Of Niccolo Machiavelli

In the year 1531 the famous political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli’s wrote a treatise entitled The Prince. It explains the proper guidelines for a prince to successfully lead a republic. Although this sixteenth century politician’s main purpose was to unite a separate Italy, his political theories have been taken into deep consideration and are commonly exercised in politics today. If Machiavelli were alive today he would agree that qualities of the current president Barack Obama coincide with his prince-like standards and make him the ideal candidate for the 2012 Presidential Election.

There were numerous times were people would try and pressure him into a decision by noting there was no time for indecision. He could keep his calm, cool manner and think a situation through before reacting. I think that being able to think things through no matter the situation speaks volumes to what a leader needs to be. He also showed that not every situation needed to be thought out at that time. He was known to have thought of contingency plans prior to actions as to cut out reaction time needed due to him thinking it through before implementation and able to switch tactics on the fly. He showed this attribute multiple times but one example sticks out in my mind’s eye. We had set up a forward position in Ramadi in what we thought was a hostile minimal area. Once we had set up our hasty area for command and control of an impending raid we came under small arms fire and a mortar attack. He had set up sectors of fire and counter fire areas before we had set up even though we were told numerous times that it was not needed. Due to his intellect, he had taken it into advisement but had planned on it not being as such and we were able to respond in kind and repel any such attack. I learned from him that no matter what happens you need to think things through and show a strong intellect so your soldiers are confident in your decisions and believe in you.

-He also talks about how people need to talk about the importance of the development of our nation.

Machiavelli concentrated more on the way things should be and how to manipulate them for his own personal gain rather than for the betterment of the state. He was well-known for being a political thinker who believed that outcomes justified why things happened. A key aspect of Machiavelli’s concept of the Prince was that “men must either be caressed or annihilated” (Prince, 9). What Machiavelli meant by

Maintaining control over a position and government in the United States still functions the same as 16th century Italy on a broad basis. In both governments to maintain control the leader primary discipline must be warfare, expect today instead of fighting with other countries physically we fight monetarily and through technological advancement. Politicians fight amongst each other for campaign donations, policy, and funding for their districts. The outline Machiavelli still applies in many way because those who maintain their positions generally have higher donations and have consistently appeased their districts for reelection. On a global scale we have physically seen aspects of The Prince taken place throughout history after its publication such as with the former Soviet Union or the former British Empire being able to control its state with many different cultures and languages by colonizing and have a strong military. Politicians must always being aware of their political surroundings and ready to attack or defend at a moment’s notice which is no different than a prince in 16th century

The Prince, Machiavelli’s guidance for new principalities, maintains that the most stable form of governance is an autocratic rule. At the heart of the matter, all affection must be removed from political affairs. In Machiavelli’s mind, if men are allowed to act with their hearts, they will ultimately and undeniably turn to self-preservation. Machiavelli fabricates two bold assumptions. The first is, “one can always find malcontents who hope to benefit from innovation,” and, “since men are wicked, they break whenever their interests are at stake” (Machiavelli 16, 52). While both of these assumptions are, in essence, correct, Machiavelli overstates the frequency of ill-doers, allowing his pessimism to taint his perspective of human decision

achiavelli presents a unique view on governing a state. Machiavelli believes the ruling Prince should be the only authority that

The shift from the medieval era to early modernity in the political sphere is notably exemplified in the writings of Niccolò Machiavelli. Two of Machiavelli’s works, The Prince (1532) and Discourses (1531)

Although written nearly two centuries apart, The Republic by Plato and The Prince by Machiavelli offer important views on political philosophies of rulers. Plato writes of a perfect society where status as ruler is naturally selected through innate abilities. These abilities are used to sustain the society, better it, and preserve it. Machiavelli writes of a society where anyone can be a prince; which for our purposes is a synonym for ruler, if they follow his instructions. These instructions are to ensure a new ruler can take control of new lands and maintain order in them for the sake of conquering and expanding power.

First let us discuss the ideas of Niccolo Machiavelli in is piece “The Prince”. Machiavelli has a very independent controversial way of thinking and portraying his ideal form of governance in this text. The ideal and most effective from of governance for him is not in that of a republic but instead he insists in an autocratic regime. He argues that republics and other forms of government are too weak because of the corruptness of human nature. This book is written as a guide on how a prince should run his state or nation based on how and when he would come into this power. One of his main concerns in which he has been criticized for is his disregard to follow moral values so as to properly run the state, as well as

The Prince is Machiavelli’s guide for ruling and conquering states. Machiavelli elaborates on various ways to acquire principalities and provides the reader with a straightforward guide on how to successfully conquer and maintain control over states. Machiavelli analyses the strengths and flaws of certain paths to conquest, how to maintain a hold on power and the importance of strong arms. Machiavelli sees humans as easily persuaded and simple minded. He believes that all people want to be controlled and guided and those who control do so because their intellect is much greater than the average person. In chapter eleven, Ecclesiastical Principalities, Machiavelli elaborates on the strength and weaknesses

The Prince is a study of how to obtain and maintain political power, this book which has 26 chapters can be categorized in four parts; the types of principalities, the type of armies, the character and behavior of the prince and Italy's political situation. Machiavelli describes the kinds of states at the first of the book, arguing that all states are either republics or principalities. Machiavelli explains some key points in what it takes to be a successful Prince. He is giving us an exact image of the cold-hearted reputation he has carried through the years. He explains his thoughts on taking over a Free State or republic and how to overcome and rule with the people loyalty and respect. He also argues

Niccoló Machiavelli is perhaps the greatest political thinker in history. He was a historian, musician, a poet, and he wrote comedies. He liked poetry as much as he liked philosophy. Machiavelli wrote and collected poems. His works, which are inspired by his life experiences, have been read by many of the worlds greatest politicians. Niccoló Machiavelli’s writing was influenced by the Medici family, the Soderini government in Italy, and his own diplomatic career. His great work, The Prince, is legendary for its impact in politics and its controversial proposals.

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.

Machiavelli’s lowering of politics creates an impact on the way ordinary subjects and citizens behave, a prince, according to Machiavelli, should be loved but most important to him, this sovereign should be feared, citizens need to obey and follow regulations and be faithful to the ruler, they are expected to honor and fight for their sovereign, in general, Machiavelli does not go into so much detail about the duties of the people, but he explains that by teaching the prince how to manage the system, he is working for the sake of people, as Machiavelli explains, a prince should follow two policies in which one of the two explains how a sovereign must keep balance and unchanged laws when conquering new territories, “not to change their laws or impose new taxes” (Machiavelli’s The Prince, page 8) what he means by this is that a sovereign should respect customs and traditions, the way people