Niccolo Machiavelli: The Father of Modern Politics

910 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: nelson mandela's leadership qualities

The American Senate Majority leader just cast the deciding vote to not support the Women’s Fair Pay Act, knowing his district’s voters are over 55% women. But, his vote ensured his party would keep the majority until 2016. The Minority leader in the Senate walks over to him after the session and says, “Good play, and it was very Machiavellian of you”.

Niccolo Machiavelli was a philosopher, statesman and the leading political theorist in the late 1400s early 1500s. He is often referred to as the “father of modern political theory” (Nederman, 2009). His book The Prince (2011) had such an influence its’ theories are still in practice today. This paper will prove Machiavelli is not a Visionary leader nor is he ethical through his theory as written in his book the Prince, and its relevance through personal experience. Let’s begin by discussing Machiavelli’s visionary leadership.

It is easy to mistake Machiavelli as a visionary leader due to the fact he was so influential but the real truth is he is not. First, it is important to know what a visionary leader is. “Visionary leaders not only have a clear idea of what is possible, they are involved in bringing it about” (Kahan, 2013, para. 5). Visionary leaders foster inclusive environments and are team builders as well as strategic thinkers (LM03, 2012). Machiavelli’s theories were effective but he was never involved in executing what he wrote. He never saw any plan through. When it came to fostering inclusive environments Machiavelli (2011) stated:

It is much safer to be feared than loved because... love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of pun...

... middle of paper ...

...you’re watching C-Span and watching our government debate will you be able to point out what party is only looking out for their own interest and acting Machiavellian?

References

Golem, D. (2006). Social intelligence: The new science of human relationships. Random House.

Kahan, Seth (2013). Leadership: Visionary leadership. Retrieved from http://www.visionaryleadership.com/free-resources/leadership-visionary- leadership.php

LM01, Ethical Leadership. (2012). Maxwell Gunter AFB. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (AETC)

LM03, Diversity. (2012). Maxwell Gunter AFB. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (AETC)

Machiavelli, N. (2011). The Prince [Apple E-book version]. Retrieved from Apple.com

Nederman, C. (2009). Niccolo Machiavelli. Stanfrod Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/

Show More
Related

  • Comparing and Contrasting Mirandolla and Machiavelli

    610 Words  | 2 Pages

    This compare and contrast essay will focus on the views of leadership between Mirandolla and Machiavelli. Mirandolla believes that leadership should not be false and that it should follow the rule of reason. He believes that leaders should strive for the heavens and beyond. On the other hand, Machiavelli believed that leadership comes to those who are crafty and forceful. He believed that leaders do not need to be merciful, humane, faithful or religious; they only need to pretend to have all these qualities. Despite both of them being philosophers, they have drastically different views on leadership, partially because of their views on religion are different. Mirandolla was very religious, and Machiavelli was a pragmatist, which means that he was not interested in religion.

    Read More

  • Nicolo Machiavelli And Thomas Hobbes Concept Of Ideal Government

    1314 Words  | 3 Pages

    An effective leader is one that understands that a society must evolve and revolutionize, in order to meet the needs of the state that are of immediate concern. As a society we are able to build off prior knowledge of once existing methods of living, and adjust them to meet current demands. Both Thomas Hobbes, and Nicolo Machiavelli’s concept, and perception of an ideal sovereign remains present in current forms of government. Machiavelli’s ideas in The Prince indicate that it is simple for any civilian to gain, and maintain power

    Read More

  • Changing Interpretations of The Prince and Niccolo Machiavelli

    2647 Words  | 6 Pages

    In recent history, the last fifty years or so, modern businessmen and politicians have given Machiavelli a Renaissance of his own. Professional politicians have written novels they claim to be on the same philosophical level of Machiavelli’s The Prince. Gary Hart, in his book The Patriot: An Exhortation to Liberate America From the Barbarians attempts to update Niccolo to the modern age with his own political philosophies, and attempts to credit Machiavelli by quoting him frequently. “Hart makes an effort to mimic the form, if not the spirit, of the most famous work by his Florentine ‘mentor.’…There is a dedicatory le...

    Read More

  • Machiavelli And Cruelty 'And Loved Or Feared'

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    one ought to be both feared and loved but it it is difficult for the two to go together. Therefore, it is

    Read More

  • Machiavelli’s The Prince

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    Niccolo Machiavelli lived in Florence, Italy in the 1400’s. The country of Italy was divided into city-states that had their own leaders, but all pledged alliance to their king. In time in which great leaders were needed in order to help the development of a city-state and country, Machiavelli had a theory that man needed a leader to control them. In his book The Prince, he speaks of the perfect leader.

    Read More

  • Comparing Machiavelli’s Principles and the Ten Commandments

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    Machiavelli is undisputedly one of the most influential political philosophers of all time. In The Prince, his most well-known work, he relates clearly and precisely how a decisive, intelligent man can gain and maintain power in a region. This work is revolutionary because it flies in the face of the Christian morality which let the Roman Catholic Church hold onto Europe for centuries. Machiavelli's work not only ignores the medieval world's ethics: The Prince suggests actions which oppose the four most basic of Christianity's Ten Commandments.

    Read More

  • Machiavelli's The Prince: Still Relevant after All These Years

    2155 Words  | 5 Pages

    Written almost 500 years ago, Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince” brings forward a new definition of virtue. Machiavelli’s definition argued against the concept brought forward by the Catholic Church. Machiavelli did not impose any thoughts of his own, rather he wrote from his experience and whatever philosophy that lead to actions which essentially produced effective outcomes in the political scene of Italy and in other countries. While Machiavelli is still criticized for his notions, the truth is that, consciously or subconsciously we are all thinking for our own benefit and going at length to achieve it. On matters of power where there is much to gain and a lot more to lose, the concept of Machiavelli’s virtue of “doing what needs to be done” applies rigorously to our modern politics and thus “The Prince” still serves as a suitable political treatise in the 21st century.

    Read More

  • Gilgamesh Leadership Essay

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    Machiavelli in his famous book “The Prince” describes the necessary characteristics for a strong and successful leader. He believes that one of the most important characteristics is to rule in favor of his government and to hold power in his hands. Power is an essential aspect of Machiavelli’s theory, and a leader should do whatever it takes to keep it for the safety of his country because “the ends justifies the means.” To attain and preserve the power, a leader should rather be feared than loved by his people, but it is vital not to be hated. As he states, “anyone compelled to choose will find far greater security in being feared than in being loved.” If a leader is feared, the people are less likely to revolt, and in the end, only a threat of punishment can guarantee obedienc...

    Read More

  • Machiavelli and Rousseau's Views on Human Nature and Government

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Machiavelli?s View Of Human Nature

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    Machiavelli has long been required reading for everyone intrested in politics and power. In The Prince Niccolo M

    Read More

  • Henry V by William Shakespeare

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    Juarez, Aimee C. “Humanizing Machiavelli and His Concept of a Good Leader.” www.saybrook.edu. N.p., 29 June 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Machiavelli's Leadership

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    The time of the Renaissance is one filled with growth of intellect, beauty of nature, the dignity of mankind, and the rising of artists. It is characterized from the move of scholasticism, a devotion specifically for the theological and philosophical teachings of the Church to humanism, a devotion to the humanities of rhetoric, arithmetic, and other subjects. One example of this movement can be seen in Machiavelli’s The Prince in which describes Niccolo Machiavelli’s ideal ruler and how to obtain stability, which was lacking as during the time of his writing this, there was a power shift from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe. How Machiavelli describes his ideal prince and his leadership is one that in which he is

    Read More

  • Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince: A Guide to Being an Effective Ruler

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Prince”, by Niccolo Machiavelli, is a series of letters written to the current ruler of Italy, Lorenzo de’ Medici. These letters are a “how-to” guide on what to do and what not to do. He uses examples to further express his views on the subject. The main purpose was to inform the reader how to effectively rule and be an acceptable Prince. Any ruler who wishes to keep absolute control of his principality must use not only wisdom and skill, but cunning and cruelness through fear rather than love. Machiavelli writes this book as his summary of all the deeds of great men.

    Read More

  • The Principles Of Machiavelli Exposed in The Prince

    512 Words  | 2 Pages

    Machiavelli's views have been misinterpreted since his book was first written, people take him in the wrong way, and are offended by what he says. Careless readers take him in a completely wrong way, such as they think that he believes that the end justifies the means, that a leader should lie to the people, and that a ruler has to rule with force. In actuality, Machiavelli means no such thing, he says that there are times when the common good outweighs the means, and the morality of a rulers actions. He also says that you cannot be loved by everyone, so try to be loved and feared at the same time, but of the two, choose to be feared. The Prince is considered to be one of the most important of nonfiction literature written in the history of mankind. It gave an accurate and truthful description of the method of governing.

    Read More

  • Machiavelli: The Father of Modern Political Science

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the time 1469, a child by the name of Niccolo Di Bernardo Del Machiavelli was born .Some may know him as an Italian philosopher, humanist, or a evil minded fellow associated with the corruptness of totalitarian government. In Machiavelli’s home state Florence, he introduces the modern political theory. Hoping to gain influence with the ruling Medici family Niccolo wrote a pamphlet call The Prince (Prezzolini).

    Read More

More about Niccolo Machiavelli: The Father of Modern Politics

Open Document