Similarities Between Machiavelli And Martin Luther King Jr

Niccolò Machiavelli and Martin Luther King Jr. are two of the greatest political leaders in history. Although opposite in the spectrum of beliefs, and separated by time and location, these two influenced our world in unbelievable ways. They both helped shape the world as we know it today. In this paper, I will discuss the lives of these two monumental leaders and explain the similarities between their acheivements.

Niccolò Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy on May 3, 1469. As an adult, he studied business mathematics and worked for a Florentine banker in Rome. After the exile of the Medici family, a powerful family in Italy that owned banks, 29 year-old Machiavelli obtained the role as an ambassador of Florence. Being a diplomat in the

In comparison to political theory that had come before it, Macchiavelli’s work was one of a kind. Instead of theories based on hypotheses, which was how previous authors backed their political data, he backed his claims with evidence of actual accounts that occurred through history. The popularity of The Prince deemed Machiavellianism. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the adjective Machiavellian as “using clever lies and tricks in order to get or achieve something.” (Merriam-Webster) The purpose of this book being written was to get on the good side of the Medici family, and to convince them to listen to his

By his book being an examination of how a leader could get in power and remain in power, many politicians have thoroughly studied it. It teaches that as being a leader, sometimes one has to be immoral to achieve certain goals. The compiled thoughts of Macchiavelli proved that he was not afraid to share his thoughts, no matter how unethical they may have been. The Prince remains a universal reference in the world of politics today just as much as it did in 1513. For this reason, Macchiavelli is known as the “father of modern political theory.” Centuries later, across the Atlantic Ocean, a man named Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. At age 15, he attended Morehouse College and eventually received a degree in Sociology. Following the lead of his father, Martin Luther King Sr., he furthered his studies in the field of theology, at Crozer Theological Seminary. Concluding his studies, King received his doctorate degree from Boston University after he became a pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. A PhD in 1955, he was only