Machiavelli Essay: Question 1 Born in the 15th century, Niccolò Machiavelli was an Italian historian, politician, philosopher, diplomat and humanist. Following his career as an official in the Florentine Republic, Machiavelli was a founder of modern political science and political ethics. In the political treatise The Prince, written in 1532, Machiavelli outlines several key traits of a successful princedom such as; how to incorporate newly acquired provinces, the most successful way to conquer territories, the establishment of successful defense and military forces, as well as qualities which would make for the most desirable prince. Machiavelli also brings to attention the pitfalls of previous Italian princes as to prevent the same mistakes from reoccurring. In The Discourses on Livy Machiavelli discusses things that were currently happening within Rome as a result of the public council, the decision made by the Roman people in an attempt to increase the empire, as well as the actions made by select men which made Rome a successful nation. During the times of political uncertainty Machiavelli responds to the need for a stable political structure and the moral basis for which this structure would exists, as well as the interest of the individual and the state in conjunction with the Italian environment in an age of great city states. Italian politics during the 15th century were in a state of flux as a result of the Renaissance in the 14th century. Machiavelli attempts to outline the ideal autocratic regime which would emphasize the need for realism over the currently favored idealist mindset. Current Italian political and ethical goals were based on the idea that the people must wait for changes to occur by chance, whereas Machi... ... middle of paper ... ...es…but enables men of private fortune…” (Machiavelli Chapter XIV). It is through the use of superior warfare that princes can remain in power and provide stable leadership. By building his career as a diplomat serving the Florentine republic, Niccolò Machiavelli constructs advice for both princes and the citizens of the republic. Machiavelli believes that there is a strong need for a stable and centralized poltical authority and that the moral basis for this rule should be constructed not on the previous values of luck and virtue but by the ideas of determination and choice. To create a successful city state in the current environment of Italy an importance must be placed not just on strategic warfare but on many other personal choices made by the political leaders. Bibliography Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince and the Discourses. New York: Modern Library, 1950.
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.
The fourteenth century was an exciting time in Italy. Liberation from old traditions brought about a new interest in the arts and literature. The church's doctrine was no longer the sole basis of scholarly work. New ideas and concepts started to emerge which were unlike anything heard since the fall of Rome. Amongst the great thinkers of this time was a man by the name of Niccolo Machiavelli. (C4. and Wood, p.510) His most famous work was entitled, The Prince. The book is a compilation of historical examples past and present ( present being the sixteenth century), that were intended to guide a prince on the correct way to control his state. It advocated the use of any means necessary to survive in the political world, even if they were not particularly pleasant. (Strathern, p.6)
"The Prince," written by Niccolo Machiavelli in 1513, is a political treatise addressed to the Medici family of Florentine. "The Prince" was written to analyze and explain the acquisition, perpetuation, and use of political power in the west. Machiavelli’s theories in the work describe methods that an aspiring prince could possibly use to acquire power, or an existing prince could use to keep power. Though this work was written in 1513 and published in 1532, its context can be applied to foreign policy in today’s world. The principles suggested by Machiavelli provide insight into the issues that arose with the war on Iraq and issues involved with occupation and transition to a new government.
First, Machiavelli’s method attempts to discard discussion of the “imaginary” political world and instead focuses on “real life” (Machiavelli 48). His end goal is to construct rubric for leaders to follow either to rule and unite (in this case Italy) in the Prince or create a powerful republic in the Discourses. His method is derived from comparing contemporary and historical events to illustrate and substantiate his argument. He is critical of how people interpret history (Machiavelli 83). He still believes that his ability to interpret and compare history is superior. Arguing that his methodological approach doesn’t just “chew” on history but actually “tastes” it (Machiavelli 83). Therefore we can understand that he justifies his method approach as not being akin to most because he possesses a much deeper understanding of history. Throughout his two books using ...
Machiavelli’s views were drastically different from other humanists at his time. He strongly promoted a secular society and felt morality was not necessary but stood in the way of a successfully governed state. He stated that people generally tended to work for their own best interests and gave little thought to the well being of the state. He distrusted citizens saying, “In time of adversity, when a state is in need of its citizens, there are few to be found.” In his writings in The Prince, he constantly questioned the citizens’ loyalty and warned for the leaders to be wary in trusting citizens. His radical and distrusting thoughts on human nature were derived out of concern for Italy’s then unstable government. Machiavelli also had a s...
In The Prince, Machiavelli separates ethics from politics. His approach to politics, as outlined in The Prince, is strictly practical. Machiavelli is less concerned with what is right and just, and instead with what will lead to the fortification of the government and the sustainment of power. Machiavelli believed that a ruler should use any means necessary to obtain and sustain power. He says, “…people judge by outcome. So if a ruler wins wars and holds onto power, the means he has employed will always be judged honorable, and everyone will praise them” (Machiavelli, 55). According to Machiavelli, the ends of an action justify the means (Machiavelli, 55). His motivation for these views in The Prince was the reunification of the Italian city-states (Machiavelli, 78-79). Machiavelli wanted Italy to return to its glory of the Roman Empire (Machiavelli 78-79). Some of the beliefs of Machiavelli could be perceived as evil and cruel, but he found them necessary. Machiavelli was not concerned with making people happy. His purpose was outcome and success, and in his opinion, the only way to be successful was to be realistic. These views of Machiavelli could classify him as one of the earliest modern
Before the organization of Italy as a country, it was broken into city-states one of which Machiavelli called home. He was a Florentine and was deeply concerned with how the political governments of Italy worked because the city-states were almost constantly at war with each another. Machiavelli wrote The Prince when the Republic of Florence fell and was replaced by an autocrat named Lorenzo de' Medici. He wrote the novel in order to gain the favor of the new ruler; however, this attempt failed. Although a failure as a political tool, The Prince remains one of the best works dealing with the power system in a political state.
In today’s world, Niccolo Machiavelli’s teachings on how one must lead would not work because the world is not as chaotic as it was in his time. Italy, d...
One of the ways a Prince or ruler is to exploit this knowledge is to understand that one of the most important things a ruler must be focused on is war. In order for a nation, empire, or state to remain and continue in its strength its leader must build its foundation on military strength and know the ‘art of war’. “Military power is the foundation and strength of the state. Persuasion alone is not enough for men are bad and inconstant.” “A prince therefore must have no other object or thought nor acquire skill in anything, except war, its organization, and its discipline. The art of war is all that is expected of a ruler; and it is so useful that besides enabling hereditary princes to maintain their rule it frequently enables ordinary citizens to become rulers…The first way to lose your state is to neglect the art of war; the first way to win a state is to be skilled in the art of war.” Son in order for a ruler or leader to maintain a stable country, he must have a strong military to back him, and know how to use those forces to strengthen his country. Even in the last century, long after Machiavelli, this idea held constant in picking a leader, most often great leaders were war heroes and commanders of great armies. Not only in other countries, but also in this country even in the very beginning of our new government; our first leader was General George Washingt...
Niccolò Machiavelli is very well known as an important and influential Italian historian, politician, philosopher, and writer during the Renaissance. His book, Discourses on Livy, is a discussion regarding the classical history of early Ancient Rome, although it uses contemporary political examples and strays far away from the subject of Rome at times. It is presented as a series of lessons on how a republic should be started and structured. Most importantly, it constantly brings up the idea of corruption and corrupt people, which is not surprising because we all desire things and search for the simplest way to obtain it, even though the easiest way to obtain something might be a corrupt way.
After five hundred years, Niccolo Machiavelli the man has ceased to exist. In his place is merely an entity, one that is human, but also something that is far above one. The debate over his political ideologies and theories has elevated him to a mythical status summed up in one word: Machiavelli. His family name has evolved into an adjective in the English language in its various forms. Writers and pundit’s bandy about this new adjective in such ways as, “He is a Machiavelli,” “They are Machiavelli’s,” “This is suitable for a Machiavelli.” These phrases are almost always the words of a person that understands more about Niccolo’s reputation than the man himself. Forgotten is that Machiavelli is not an adequate example of the ruler he is credited with describing; a more accurate statement would be to call someone a “Borgia” or a “Valentino.” Most of the time they are grossly mistaken in their references. All these words accomplish is to add to the legend, and the misinterpretation, of the true nature of Niccolo Machiavelli.
Living in a tumultuous era, filled with political and religious conflicts, warring city-states, and a continent ruled by a government who used the church to control and conquer, an exiled Machiavelli wrote the book The Prince to give politicians a basis on how to rule a nation and as a way to continue to make a statement in Florence’s politics. The book itself was unlike the regular “mirrors for princes”, in a sense that instead of telling the prince how to be morally sound it told him how to be effective as a ruler. Within the book there were three characteristics that were expressed that can be considered of high importance for every prince/ruler. These three were every prince should rather be feared than to be loved, study war and always be ready for it, and that in the case of two states in war always pick a side and never stray away from it. These characteristics were present in a strong and merciless ruler who used the three features above to govern over an entire country. Joseph Stalin might be seen as a mass murder, but his achievements and contributions to Russia proved that by being feared rather than loved, studying war and perfecting it, and his ability to choose his allies in war, would ultimately lead to the prosperity of his nation.
During the period of Medici’s ruling, politics and government was corrupted. In order to stop it, Niccolò Machiavelli wrote The Prince, stating the qualities for a successful ruler, to convince the Medici Family to start ruling Florence appropriately. He used his knowledge to deceive the Medici family in hope that the end justifies the means. Besides the main purpose of The Prince, Felix Gilbert claims Machiavelli was also signifying crucial insight to how the prince should act due to the fact that we live in an imperfect world, where politics is a science, and in order to keep society alive the prince must preserve his state and power.
...ver, according to Machiavelli, these short-comings are justified since they preserve the state’s overall goal. In addition, if administrators at both local and national levels act in accordance with the state, this preserves the functionality of society as a whole. Not acting in accordance with the will of the state causes turmoil to erupt and a chink within the everyday businesses of life. Thus, it is consideration of these points that Machiavelli’s philosophy would purport that the tyrannical grip of the state ought to reign supreme in contemporary society.
Machiavelli uses classical sources to advise a prince on the best way to maintain power. He alludes to Plato’ Republic to illustrate how many men have attempted to advice princes “ A great many men have imagined states and princedoms such as nobody ever saw or knew in the real word, and there’s such a difference between the way we really live and the way we ought to live that the man who neglects the real to study the ideal will learn how to accomplish his ruin, not his salvation.” Machiavelli also makes various references to classical figures to demonstrate examples of princely leadership. Machiavelli’s classical allusions are indicative of the Renaissance as the renewed study of the ancient classics was an important element of the Renaissance. Machiavelli adopted classical ideas in the hopes that these examples could inspire improvements within Italy. Rafael Major supports this idea in “ A New Argument for Morality: Machiavelli and the Ancients.” He argues, “ Even a cursory survey of classical literature reveals that very little of The Prince can properly be called original.” More also reflects the Renaissance through his classical allusions. He uses his classical sources to criticize certain practices within Europe, while also offering solutions to these problems through the example of the classics. For example, he also alludes to