Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

The Prince had no actual characters, but instead discussed and analyzed the political policies of political leaders, highlighting their faults and strengths. The setting was 1513 Europe. This is the same time when major areas were having power struggles and religious conflict was rampant. His tone is that of the ambitious leader. It conveys the thoughts of one who knows how to gain and maintain power. Though this is true, the thoughts are built upon principalities probably learned by way of many mistakes made by one who will never again be in the position to imply his theorems and strategies. Machiavelli's own ruthless mind probably served as the bases for him knowing the ways of the corrupt. The thesis seems to

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.

According to Machiavelli's view of how to be an effective leader, a ruler should be one who is feared but not hated. Machiavelli states that fear is better than love because love is unreliable. All of the reasons that Machiavelli gives relate to how human nature controls men and drives them to commit crimes in order to reach their goals and satisfy themselves.

Can five century old ideas still be relevant in modern times? Niccolo Machiavelli, author of The Prince, wrote a book to give advice to rulers both young and old. He introduced a multitude of bold ideas that help a prince rise to power and prosper there. Machiavelli’s concepts include killing off competitors, the prince and army becoming one, and using cruelty to the prince’s advantage. Although The Prince was written over five-hundred years ago, the beliefs of Machiavelli are still useful as shown by Germany’s dictator on the twentieth century, Adolf Hitler.

Niccolo Machiavelli, who lived during the Renaissance, was a politician, a philosopher, and an author. His most highly regarded book, “The Prince” details the ways in which Machiavelli believes the world should be run. By using real world examples, as well as his own opinion, Machiavelli puts up points about everything that could harm a ruler, but also about what could lead to a leader becoming one of the greats. Machiavelli’s work was accepted widely around the world, and still to this day is read around the world; not necessarily as a guide, but as an insight into the world that Machiavelli wanted. Leaders around the world currently follow many different methods to rule their people, however if they followed some of Machiavellis rules, there might be less backlash towards those in power. Rulers, in Machiavellis mind, must be smart and cunning, but also thoughtful of those he is ruling, because in the long run, the people of his kingdom can determine his fate.

From describing world leaders to political antiheroes in television dramas, characterizing someone as a “Machiavellian figure” is perceived more as derisive description than an accurate representation of that person’s philosophical views of power. This popular depiction is due to Niccolo Machiavelli’s harsh portrayal of the interlaced relationship between power and politics in his treatise, The Prince. Machiavelli begins his work by contending that it is “more effective” to reveal the “practical truth of a subject” rather than “depend on [his] fancies for it”(Machiavelli 2524). His rejection of idealism and focus on realism impels him to claim that a ruler has to be acquainted with and effectively use both virtue and vice to wield power over his subjects. However, Machiavelli’s philosophical justifications which allow him to arrive at such a conclusion are based on three problematic beliefs which are that the public is easily gratified with a fulfillment of their most basic desires, the ruler has to develop a narcissistic personality to understand how to wield power and the ruler, as a man, must beat the woman Fortune to have dominion (Machiavelli 2531). These assumptions are what gives the term “Machiavellian” such a negative connotation; more importantly, they reveal that Machiavelli’s understanding of power is problematic since it is not based on realism but on an idealized view of the general public and masculinity.

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.

On the surface, Machiavelli's The Prince teaches leaders how to best acquire and maintain power. Machiavelli said that his purpose of writing is to tell the "real truth of the matter". The truth according to Machiavelli is that people who are seldom are what they appear to be and that people who focus on ideals and principles or what ought to be done will end up ruined. Some people thought that Machiavelli's intentions was to expose how autocratic leaders have truly exercised their power throughout history. Some even say that he wrote The Prince to secure a government position from Lorenzo de' Medici, who was the ruler of Florence. Others believed that he meant it as a warning to Florentines to look out for tyrants like Medicis. Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli’s advice towards leaders in his book The Prince is both relevant and not relevant today in many ways. The European leader that I have chosen to prove what advice Machiavelli gave in The Prince is relevant and what is not, is Edward Heath. Some of Edwards work relates to the advice given by Machiavelli while many of it is the pure opposite of Machiavelli’s advice.

The Prince, by Niccoló Machiavelli, is a how to rule guide for sovereigns. It was written in 1513 but published only in 1532, nearly five years after Machiavelli’s death. The book was composed to tell sovereigns how to rule, but some scholars say it is more on how not to rule. From how to act as a prince to how not to attack in war, Machiavelli discusses it all. He was a regular citizen in Florence, but claimed he knew more about the art of ruling than princes did, he watched Italy rise and fall and decided to write The Prince in hopes that Lorenzo de Medici, the prince at the time, would read it and put it to use. Machiavelli claimed that if a prince were to read his book and follow his guidance, he would have no problem ruling and go down

Machiavelli explains on how fortune is a lady's furthermore how fortune can take control. I observed his hypothesis to be valid. Ladies are fortunes men will never get it. Fortune is something men will never love effectively. In today's general public, men disregard how exceptionally they ought to treat a lady. No men open entryways, give some assistance, or ask how their day have been. Numerous individuals trust fortune controls everything, so they let it. As years passed by, men have slacked off the admiration for ladies and their fortune. In the Machiavelli determination of The Prince, he appears to have it all made sense of.

Humans are born with the tendency to look out for one another and care for each other. A person can learn otherwise through their life experiences, but it is there at the beginning of life—it comes naturally. Although Machiavelli suggests otherwise in “The Prince”, justice is present in life in the same way. To put it simply, justice exists by nature.

Machiavelli’s the Prince is a highly acclaimed and influential book to read by wide crowds of audiences. Machiavelli is not evil, he’s just a political expert that’s trying to return Florence to the former glory of itself before the liberation and drive out the foreigners. Throughout the book, it has historical examples on how to properly conquer a kingdom, marketing ploys, and colonizing tips. Also, this was how society was in the period of Medieval times and Renaissance because you would either need to conquer as many lands as possible in order to be seen as powerful and wealthy or be conquered by wealthier enemies.

Niccolò Machiavelli wrote The Prince with the sole purpose of impressing the Medici family and getting on the good side of the new ruler of Florence, Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici. By writing this “handbook to ruling,” Machiavelli hoped to sway the Medici to accept him as an ally and possible political advisor. He was extremely convincing as he used examples from the past as a “political lesson” to further distinguish his ideas as correct.

So the choice will be obey our human nature. If citizens are feared by his leader and even much more than the "dangerous" does. For instinct, they will turn slavery to the one that is most feared unconsciously. I don't think love is not as valuable as fear to the politic. But a smart leader would chose a easy way to govern his citizens.