Machiavelli's The Prince

Political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli’s, “The Prince”, exemplifies an early depiction of several “modern” ideological principles that would sustain and preserve nations (especially after the separation of the church and state) in the sixteenth century. In this critically acclaimed work, Machiavelli satirically bequeaths a map of qualities that princes should steadfastly uphold and advance. Expressly, the qualities mapped out are frequently criticized as, “crafty, cunning and unscrupulous methods by which a prince can acquire and maintain political power”. One of the most prominent principles that almost served as a catalyst and enchiridion for Machiavelli’s “ethical” behavior as an eminent political figure of Florence, Italy was, “the end

History 's most prominent leaders have shown extreme congruence. These leaders almost always hold reality over ethics. How can we classify lying and manipulative leaders as immoral when their duplicity is the very reason a society can maintain stability? This idea has of "means justifying the ends" has been a staple in History 's most prosperous of societies. Machiavelli 's novel The Prince was the first stab at understanding this human tendency of what is now known as Machiavellian. Machiavelli grasped the sad reality of our world and did not fall prey to other 's idealistic propaganda. Great leaders understand what the endless potential they hold, they can manipulate their followers to make best of what is possible and above all they understand sacrifice. Modern day Machiavellians and successful leaders think realistically and communicate through idealism. No matter the extremes of your belief, utilizing Machiavellian tactics have the capability to bring anyone to power.

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

In the story "The Prince", the author, Niccolo Machiavelli illustrates plenty of key points in what it takes to become a successful Prince. Machiavelli illustrates a true image of the unsympathetic reputation he has carried throughout the years. He explains his ideas on taking over a "free" state and how to take control and rule while still having the peoples respect. In chapter 5, Machiavelli claims that the key to taking over a free state is to destroy it at first.

Machiavelli’s The Prince talks about many issues of modern political philosophy, it was written to help rulers stay in power. His common themes are ruling through fear, being as powerful as a lion and as intelligent as a fox, and to maintain the state at all costs. One of the common discussions about his writings is what he means by “one must learn how to not be good.” For what reason should a ruler learn to not be good? He claims that being good and continuing to be good could only make a ruler more weak. He continues to list good and bad qualities of a ruler and claiming that every ruler will have at least one of the bad qualities but the way he conquers his unpraised attribute is most important. A ruler should hide his flaws so that he only

The type of ruler Machiavelli describes is “unencumbered by ordinary ethical and moral values; his prince would be man and beast, fox and lion” (Donno, synopsis of The Prince). This is exactly the type of prince Machiavelli describes throughout the book. In chapter fifteen he explains how the attitude and conduct of a prince should be when dealing with his subjects and friends. Many other people have written about this same subject in very different ways that Machiavelli did. He decided to describe the concerning things which princes are praised for or censured in a way without the rules others have written by. “Since it is my intention to write something of use to those who

In the sixteenth century, barbarians from France, Spain, and Germany constantly fought for power in Italy, a country already fractured into quarrelling city-states. During this time, the exiled diplomat Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince as a guide for Lorenzo di Piero De’ Medici, Italy’s chosen ‘deliverer,’ in the hopes of being welcomed back into society. Throughout his guide, Machiavelli created the image of an ideal leader, shaped by the defeats and accomplishments of previous rulers. To sustain one’s rule successfully, Machiavelli believed that a leader needed the wisdom and prudence to act appropriately in difficult situations, as well as harbor minimal dependence on others for strength; a leader, most of all, was capable of facing

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.

From Machiavelli's descriptions of the ideal princely rule, one can derive his notion of an ideal political system and what political decisions are good ones. Machiavelli's good political system is primarily concerned with maintaining rule by resisting internal or external threats to the throne. He claims that a "prince who has a strong city and does not make himself hated, cannot be attacked..." (Machiavelli, Pg. 47). Machiavelli is known to disregard the brutal or unethical nature of means if the end is lasting power. He even asserts that securely acquiring a hereditary principality justifies murdering an entire royal family line (Machiavelli, Pg. 11). A good political system to Machiavelli is one that makes decisions that ensure power but not contempt for the prince. An example of this is his praise of Cesare Borgia who, in pursuit of reducing crime in a province, appointed the strict Messer Remirro de Orco to restore the area. Orco got the job that Borgia wanted done but gained contempt from the people for his strong enforcement, so Borgia left him decapitated in the street to reap the benefits of his work and also win the awed favor of the people (Machiavelli, Pg. 31). Machiavelli states that a prince who creates a good reputation through his political rule, however necessary, will be "difficult to conspire

The Oxford Dictionary defines the term “Machiavellian” as someone who is cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous, especially in politics or in advancing one’s career. These principles, as well as others, were established in Niccolo Machiavelli’s book, The Prince. The Prince dwelves on what a person needs to do to obtain and maintain power in a principality. Although it was written nearly 500 years ago, it has influenced countless rulers over time. A great example of one of these rulers is Joseph Stalin, dictator of the U.S.S.R (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) from 1929 - 1953.

The Prince was written in 1513 while Machiavelli was exiled to his family estate outside of the city. It is a very small book that did not become widely known until after his death; his work was finally published in 1532. When it came to writing, The Prince, Machiavelli had many motives and a specific purpose he was trying to get across to his fellow peers. He was outraged and lost hope when he found out about the dismemberment by the French and the Spanish kings in Italy. Machiavelli began to focus on inspiring a native leader to unify the peninsula and get rid of all the foreigners. He also wanted to illuminate the truth about politics and to regain employment in the Florentine state. With all the hopes of proving his point, his works failed and Italy remained fragmented until the year of 1870.

In Niccolo Machiavelli’s book The Prince, Machiavelli portrays many qualities that a leader should have. Machiavelli also describes how a leader should work. Adolf Hitler portrays all of the qualities of what Machiavelli believed a leader should have. Adolf Hitler proves that Machiavelli’s advice to leaders is still relevant today.

There have been thousands of leaders throughout time, each having their own way to run their country, province, or many other things. “The Prince” holds many contemporary ideas that can be applied to present, despite it have been written in the 16th century. It can relate to many modern ways of running a government successfully and offers many valuable lessons that leaders should take into account for. “The Prince” shares ways to make allies with other countries, good defensive and offensive tactics for military troops, and provides details for leader to consider on how to maintain their power and respect.

Machiavelli advises the reader, specifically Lorenzo, of what a prince should do in order to keep control of his territory. First, to keep others from invading the prince 's territory, one must, like briefly mentioned in the prior paragraph, have an army of your own subjects. In chapter 12, Machiavelli shares the problems with having mercenaries as a prince 's main force of power and protection saying, "They

Chapter XXIV of The Prince, by Nicolo Machiavelli, states the reasons why the princes of Italy lost their terrotory. The princes of Italy felt that they had lost their states due to misfortune, or a stroke of bad luck. Nicolo expresses that in reality, the princes lost their land because they were unprepared, and they were in their own “sloth”, or they were being lazy.