Characteristics Of Plato, Aurelius And Machiavelli

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Qualities of a Leader
(Identify the best political leader according to Plato, Aurelius, and Machiavelli) Politics is as old as time itself. Ever since the development of tribes, there has existed the idea of power and control being held by one person or a group of people over everyone else. Different types of leaders have existed throughout history, some considered good, others considered bad. How are we to know what type of leader is the best? Many ask this question and ponder it, maybe even come up with their own answers. Others look to those who have already come up with answers, or they look to history to see what type of leadership seemed to work. "Political philosophy, however, is not merely unpractical speculation, though it may give …show more content…

A Prince must be strong, use violence and force, and be cunning. Machiavelli made a huge transition from the Platonic idea of the ideal leader when he presented the strong, dominant, conservative leader who valued violence and deceit to win over subjects. "Rulers should be truthful, keep promises, and the like when doing so will not harm the state, and that they should generally appear to have the traditional virtues. But since the goal of the ruler is to conquer and preserve the state, he should not shrink from wrongdoing when the preservation of the state requires this." (Abrams) He also dislike the fact that Plato created theories of what the ideal society should be along with its leader and wanted to focus more on how the world really functioned. By looking at the reality of human nature and society Machiavelli developed his theory of the most effective and ideal leader. A downfall to this system would be that the leader, no matter how strategic, would eventually be discovered as two-faced and may lose the respect of the subject. While this system of leadership would be the most effective, it would also be the most …show more content…

While I don 't think that it is necessary for a leader to have fifty years of education before they are allowed to enter into a position of authority, I do believe that leaders ought to be well educated. This benefits all of society if they have wise and knowledgeable leader. I also think a leader should be honest and driven to make society better, rather than driven by money or power. Aurelius also has some good views of what the ideal leader should be. A leader should be patient and tolerant of others, especially when they disagree. They should also be willing to own up and fix their mistakes. This gains a lot of respect among people in any society. The leader should also be able to set aside his or her emotions to view a situation as it really and make judgments based on facts and intuition rather than

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