Machiavelli The Prince Research Paper

Niccolo Machiavelli was a unique politician, philosopher, and writer who lived in Florence, Italy during the European Renaissance period of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He is most famously known for writing his ruthless handbook for rulers, The Prince, during his time in exile in 1513. This contentious piece of literature has been fondly referred to as “the guidebook for tyrants and totalitarians,” according to the documentary, Machiavelli: The Prince by director Jett Rink. However, the document has also been credited with positively paving the way for ethnic and religious toleration, individual rights, and modern democracies all throughout history; and it inevitably set the stage for future governments to come. In this way, it is

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.

“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. “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

Niccolo Machiavelli, author of The Prince, was born in Italy in 1469 and raised in

“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.

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was a politician and philosopher from Florence, Italy. In his early life Machiavelli was able to witness the various ways countries dealt with affairs. When he retired, he spent his time writing The Prince (1532), a handbook for rulers. He made The Prince to explain how a leader gains and maintains power. His ideas had a very important function in the development of politics during his time.

The narrator describes the purpose of The Prince was to “shock and reeducate its reader... to challenge the political pieties of its day and explain to princes and prince-wannabes, how the game is really played”. The book tells of how princes should know how to fight, and how to be heartless, callous, and pitiless. At any time, the prince had to be willing and ready to demolish moral and religious fundamentals, to lie and be dishonest, and to break his word. But, at the same time, the prince had to appear virtuous, dedicated, honest and considerate to his subjects.

The idea of fear is usually given a negative connotation but this is not the case. Yes fear is not particularly healthy all the time but what people do not understand is that, that does not limit its meaning. Some parts of the world are led by treacherous, violent, feared, and hated people but what humans sometimes do not understand, is that fear and hatred have very different definitions. This is one of the concepts that the book ‘The Prince’ by Machiavelli conveys. In the book, Machiavelli shares the characteristics that a good leader should possess.

Nowadays, it is politically impossible to commit to paper a "training guide" for leaders. There are innumerable detractors to any possible stance or strategy a leader might adopt. As a result of this, all "training" must take place behind closed doors, far from the prying eyes and ears of the news media or the public. But this has not always been the case.

In society today, people tend to want to achieve perfection as much as possible. However, they fail to realize that perfection is just this idealistic quality that no one can really obtain. The idea of “perfection” is usually given to those of higher power, like a prince. In Niccolo Machiavelli’s short story “The Moral of the Prince”, Machiavelli presents the idea that perfection is idealistic instead of realistic. Machiavelli explains how a prince is seen as this perfect individual with nothing but great qualities. However, he states that realistically, a prince cannot always be good because when always being good, you will be taken advantage of by the people. He states, “Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin

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).

Speaking of such qualities as ruthless and mercy, Machiavelli argues that every ruler would like to be regarded as merciful and not cruel. Another thing is that often in order to retain power the ruler has to show cruelty. If the state is threatened with chaos or mess, the task of the prince is to prevent this even if it is necessary to arrange some reprisals. After all, with respect to the rest of the citizens, these executions will become a noble deed since riots and chaos would bring suffering to them (Machiavelli 24). Machiavelli provides an example of Cesare Borgia whose cruelty led to peace in the state. In that way, the

In his article Morality and Politics with Reference to Machaiavelli’s The Prince, Mohammed Seid Ali dissects Machiavelli’s The Prince by analyzing his tactics and applying them to real life situations, both historical and theoretical. Ali highlights the impact of The Prince, its realist ideals, and how they have affected the world’s most powerful institutions. While Ali agrees with many of the underlying principles of Machiavelli, he rebuts specific notions more than once. For example, Ali questions the practicality of Machiavelli’s inherent distrust of diplomacy. Furthermore, Ali disagrees with Machiavelli’s ideas on neutrality and alignment. Ali also doubts Machiavelli’s understanding of international relations, citing his pessimism

Mankind has never answered this age old question: Is man inherently good? There are different arguments for both sides, however most would agree that humans should strive to be good. Interestingly, Niccolo Machiavelli in his work The Prince would disagree. Written for the Medici lords, The Prince offers advice on how to obtain and rule a principality. To do this, he must first explain the nature of man and adjust the method of ruling them accordingly. Machiavelli believes humans by nature are corrupt, so the Prince must also be corrupt to succeed.

If there’s one thing I’ve picked up from this chapter alone is that Machiavelli is a douche. It seems like he’s saying to never be generous because it’s just not worth the time or the breathe. I think it’s better to be known as a kind ruler like George Washington rather than being known to be as cruel as Hitler. I would never use this mindset in our own government because this isn’t Nazi germany or Mother Russia! I get that people want to look all big and tough and act like the smartest person in the room, but sometimes you gotta admit to yourself that being cruel all the time will bring you nothing but lifelong hurt and guilt. In being cruel, you can be sure to look out for an uprising coming your way if you were the cruel prince. With that said, I deeply disagree with Machiavelli’s statement of being cruel at all costs and not being generous to the people. You will receive nothing but good words and appreciative reward in the