Perhaps the most widely discussed topic, aside from celebrities and the weather, politics is also one of the most volatile. Its subjects are often involved in as much scandal as the former, and its geography changes as quickly as the latter. Politicians and their business are important because they make up the government. “What should government do?” and “How should government function?” are questions which will evoke drastically different answers depending on the worldview of the one asked. From one conservative view, government is an institution of authority set forth by God, therefore deserving of respect, if not obedience, and is useful for upholding the law and protecting its citizens.
God determines how a government should be run, and who should run it. Alternative positions claim either that the strongest have a right to rule, based on their strength, or that the ruling body has authority by the consent of the ruled. Machiavelli found the former to be completely natural, and even went so far as to say that a ruler “must not have any other object nor any other thought, nor must he take anything as his profession but war, […] because that is the only profession which benefits one who commands” (221). Many nations through all ages have been ruled by a conqueror, someone who comes in and takes control by force. In order to maintain this new authority, the conqueror needs to use his power and invoke fear to his advantage. For as Machiavelli goes on to say, it is “not reasonable for an armed man to obey and unarmed man willingly,” because it is “impossible for them to work well together” (Machiavelli 222). On the surface, this is true. People would not stand by and let someone come in and take over if they had the me...
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...im and to Him are all things” (New American Standard Bible Updated Edition, Romans 11:33, 36a).
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New American Standard Bible Updated Edition. La Habra: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. Print.
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We often wonder about the importance of government. Is it necessary? Does it really benefit society? The answer is yes. Many countries have diverse forms of government such as totalitarian, monarchy, theocracy, and much more. The United States of America specifically runs a democratic type of government. A democratic government gives power to the people. Citizens over the age of eighteen are allowed to elect leaders based on their individual opinions through voting rights. The main purpose of the American government is, to protect people’s inalienable rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness as our Founding Fathers intended.
Niccolò Machiavelli was a man who lived during the fourteen and fifteen hundreds in Florence, Italy, and spent part of his life imprisoned after the Medici princes returned to power. He believed that he should express his feelings on how a prince should be through writing and became the author of “The Qualities of a Prince.” In his essay, he discusses many points on how a prince should act based on military matters, reputation, giving back to the people, punishment, and keeping promises. When writing his essay, he follows his points with examples to back up his beliefs. In summary, Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of a Prince,” provides us with what actions and behaviors that a prince should have in order to maintain power and respect.
Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence." The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. 8th edition, Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw Hill, 2003. 305-308.
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Plato is one of the most familiar and commonly studied philosophers. His work is of the highest intelligence and full of thought-provoking attributes. Plato’s “Allegory Of The Cave” is perhaps one of the works most easily related to life. This allegory creates a sense of advancing into the “light” of understanding and knowledge.
Pleasants, Samuel A., III. The Declaration of Independence. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Books, 1996.
Forward thinking John Locke described the government’s purpose in his Second Treatise on government. To this great thinker, political power is “a right of making laws…only for the public good” (Locke). This idea of organization is key to liberty. Government is made to protect the rights of a free person, not to remove or tarnish them. Thus, it is the type...
Vesterman, William, and Thomas Jefferson. "The Declaration of Independence." Great Interdisciplinary Ideas: A Reader for Writers. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008. 189. Print.
Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence." Mountain View College Reader. Neuleib, Janice. Cain S., Kathleen. Ruffus, Stephen. Boston: 501 Boylston Street, Suite 900. 2013 Print.
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Machiavelli, Nicolo (1532) The Prince. In Peter Bondanella’s and Mark Musa’s (eds) The Portable Machiavelli. (pp. 77-166) New York, New York: Penguin Books.
Plato's allegory of the cave is a metaphysical illustration of the philosopher’s view of the humanity. We are represented by the prisoners, who are mired and held captive by an extremely limited view of the world, and prevented by their chains from viewing the actual Truth of existence. We are each locked up in our own worldview, living our lives unknowingly in the shadow of actual truth. Having nothing else to rely upon but our meager eyesight and hearing, capable of only believing in shadows and whispering disembodied voices, once exposed to truth, it is blinding to us. We are dazzled and disoriented, afraid of the glaring sight that has been so rudely forced upon us.
In book seven of ‘The Republic’, Plato presents possibly one of the most prominent metaphors in Western philosophy to date titled ‘Allegory of the Cave’.
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