Essay on Machiavelli's Advice to Republics

To be the prince, you have to be unethical. Machiavelli’s philosophy can be seen as cruel and evil, however, I believe that he is just teaching what he believes will work when governing. The reason behind his cruelty and terror as instruments are simply instruments of leadership – not because he finds joy in harming and scaring others. The effective truth of the matter is that certain times call for punishment and putting fear into people in order to keep power. For those who are in power – the prince – will have a natural urge to keep their own state.

The Prince, written by Niccoló Machiavelli, is essentially a guide for to-be rulers on how to be successful, in running a state, monitoring political issues, and so on. The book is a handbook that was dedicated, as said by Machiavelli in the dedicatory letter, to Lorenzo de’ Medici, who was the governor of Florence at the time. Machiavelli discusses, in thorough detail, necessary characteristics that a leader should possess in order for him to become victorious in his reign. An important concept that Machiavelli address is how virtue and fortune connect and affect the ability of the ruler to keep power. In Chapter XVIII, he implicitly defines virtue as the qualities needed by a prince to rule effectively and in favor of the people.

A famous aristocrat named, Niccolo Machiavelli, wrote the book, “The Prince (1513), his most celebrated work, was a general treatise on the qualities the prince (that is, ruler) must have to maintain his power” Jacobus (84). Within this essay, he writes about the “Qualities of the Prince,” which is a guide for princes and future princes to follow, in order to be successful and keep their power. Machiavelli is very practical in his way of thinking, and doesn’t recommend princes to be good, on the contrary he suggests for them to be very practical. He states they should ensure power by direct and effective means. Modern politicians are likely to succeed by following most of Machiavelli’s recommendations. One

Machiavelli brought up many controversial and untraditional points regarding what a kingdom or prince was allowed to do to maintain power. The most extreme, being that the prince wasn't held to any moral code in the practice of maintaining power. A prince must be prepared to ward off any conflicting power even if it means breaking traditional moral codes. Other powers, Machiavelli believed, wouldn't be so kind in combat and a prince must fight back with equal or greater force. Another point is that it's better to be feared than loved. Machiavelli believed that love didn't

Although he does say that these princes have achieved their power and status through immoral means, he also states that whether or not they are justified “depends on whether cruelty be well or badly used. Well used are those cruelties (if it is permitted to speak well of evil) that are carried out in a single stroke, done out of necessity to protect oneself, and are not continued but are instead converted into the greatest possible benefits for the subjects” (Machiavelli, 106). He indicates that often times the prince, as a ruler of his people, cannot make the same choices that would be considered moral for a normal person. As a ruler, he must consider the good of all of the people, and in doing so must sometimes choose the route which on the surface appears to be immoral and evil, but will in theory create the most good for his people while also maintaining or bolstering the prince’s power over the people.

In The Prince, Machiavelli explains what a good and successful prince should be like. He advocates a strong, cutthroat authority figure and encourages the winning of power by any means necessary. The main theme in The Prince is that mob rule is dangerous, for people know only what is good for themselves and not what is good for the whole. The common people, in Machiavelli’s view, “are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers, they shun danger and are greedy for profit; while you treat them well, they are yours”. He believes that these commoners should be

A prince must maintain a positive public opinion. Machiavelli believes that it is not important if the prince is loved or feared by the people, but rather if he is able to escape hatred. Machiavelli states, “Love is secured by a bond of gratitude which men […] break when it is their advantage to do so; but fear is strengthened by a dread of punishment which is always effective” (Machiavelli 54). Through this quote Machiavelli illustrates that it is a greater advantage to be feared than to be loved. A prince is only effective when he has full control over his citizens because “men worry less about doing an injury to one who makes himself loved the to one who makes himself feared” (Machiavelli 54).

The Prince is essentially a guide book on how to acquire and maintain political power. We can think of it as a collection of rules and methods to achieve a level of superior authority. Its main focus is that the ends—no matter how immoral—justify the means for preserving political authority. While some may agree with this mindset of thinking many today dismiss Machiavelli as a cynic. The book shows rulers how it is that they should act to survive in the real world to maintain authority. While Niccolo Machiavelli’s ideas can be radical, they helped to spark a revolution in political philosophy. Although his ideas might have not been completely original, they were very different and unheard of at the time, The Prince, was published. Machiavelli uses many methods to convey his messages including biblical comparisons and of course metaphors. This character can be viewed in several manners. He is almighty and powerful, stopping at nothing to achieve his goals or have his ways. While this quality does qualify him to be a might leader it also raises the question of immorality. How far will one go to maintain order? Would you stop at nothing to achieve this task? Machiavelli shows this by saying, “it is

I believe Machiavelli’s teachings have unrealistic outcomes, and are often unreasonable when discussing the specific qualities of how a prince “should “act. When reading Machiavelli’s work, I often kept thinking that there is no perfect leader, and it often takes adaptability and variety to become a beneficial leader to any good city-state in this time period due to the varying societies. Machiavelli’s The Prince is basically giving us his opinion and a format to how he believes a prince should act. By Machiavelli’s standards, a prince should be very self aware and often hypocritical, condescending, and two-faced towards others. Machiavelli addresses the reader and states that “Every ruler should want to be thought of as compassionate and not cruel…So a ruler ought not to mind the disgrace of being called cruel, if he keeps his subjects peaceful and law abiding” (51). It has been proven to be

Machiavelli's The Prince is written on the premise that an individual is led by their own free will, as oppose to those who sought after religious or supernatural help. He tried to illustrate that individuals were responsible for their own actions, it was a belief that broke away from the catholic church whom believed that God, in all his magnificence was author and finisher of one's fait. According to Machiavelli, a ruling prince's purpose was to be the sole influence over a state, issuing policies that would ultimately serve to his own benefit. These policies revolved around the maintenance and the expansion of his empire. He insisted that princes could only benefit from their subjects by holding a firm grip on them through deceit and manipulation

In the Middle Age, many writers on political power had stressed the ethical side of a prince’s activity -- how a ruler ought to behave based on Christian principles. Machiavelli rejected this approach. From Machiavelli’s point of view, a prince’s attitude toward power must be based on an understanding of a human nature, which he believed was basically self-center. He wrote, “One can make this generalization about men: they are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers,

To be a feared and forceful without being overthrown requires the ruler to also be merciful. Machiavelli does warn the prince that to be to forceful can lead to disorder, but being to merciful can have the same effect (Cohen, 1996). Because of the line upon a successful ruler seemingly must learn to linger upon, Machiavelli suggests that the ruler must have a persona to the public of someone who is merciful, religious, and humane. At the same time the ruler must be able to use force and violence at any time to maintain order of the city (Cohen,

Machiavelli ties virtue very closely to that of prudence. He defines virtue as acting exceptionally and draws a distinction between morality and virtue. In many respects Machiavelli defines virtue by prudence. If a ruler is able to balance his violence, keep his subjects appeased, and have a dire understanding of his threats, then in Machiavelli's eyes the ruler has a strong virtue. What must be understood is that the throne is always in jeopardy and someone is always there to try to knock the prince off his pedestal. This is a prime understanding that a prince must have, and fuels the infamous argument by Machiavelli that it is better to be feared than loved. Machiavelli explains that, for the most part, love is very subjective and eventually will subside unless further concessions are made to appease his subjects. In addition, people only care about their personal conveniences and a prince would have to overextend himself if he were to be loved by all. Fear, however, is not subjective and has a universal effect on all his people. Fear can be attained by sporadic violent acts. One must understand, however, that massive amounts of violence can not be done because it would portray the Prince as tyrant, and might stir up his people to revolt against him. The acts must be calculated, concise, and serve a direct purpose not only to his benefit but to the

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

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