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Machiavelli's Prince: The Perfect Leader

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The Perfect Leader
A critique of the perfect leader using the Republic, Meditations, and the Prince
In history, there are only a few things that are constant; human existence as we know it and the resemblance of power and morality in a society. Power in some situations is everything. In tyrannical governments, there is only the one who has power and those who are under him. In Plato’s republic, there is power in the knowledge that is available for everyone to harness, but only a certain few choose to do. These turn into the philosopher kings that Plato and Socrates think should rule the Ideal Republic. In Machiavelli’s Prince, he realized that there can be no true leader in a society and that there cannot be a perfect person; henceforth, no …show more content…

Clearly, in the texts the Prince, the Republic and Meditations, there are many conflicting views on the perfect …show more content…

In his relatively short book, he describes the perfect leader in a much different way than what would be seen in Plato’s Republic. When he goes about describing a leader, he doesn’t describe the perfect leader, but the leader as they really are in this world. The reality I guess you could say of the day to day leader. He describes the perfect leader as someone who would be the kind of person that would get things done. The kind of prince that would lie, cheat and fool his citizens in order to make sure they eventually got what was best for them. This was translated out of the original Prince as having a strength or prowess that others do not possess. This quality of leadership is not like some of the more ethical philosophers, but Machiavelli would argue that success for the community and private morality are two wholly separate things that should not be mistaken for one and another. In the Prince, he explores the question of not what makes a good human being, but what makes a good Prince? What kind of person is most capable of leading the group to success? (Kemerling) Clearly, the best kind of leader is the one who will get stuff

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