Machiavelli Chapter 7

Niccolo Machiavelli’s, “The Prince” is all about having the right character, political mind, and taking the right cause of action in order to be what Machiavelli describes as a strong Prince. In chapters 5-10, Machiavelli gives the reader a perfect image of the stone-hearted reputation that he has been renowned for throughout his years as a political writer. He states his own beliefs on annexing a democratically free state, commonwealth, or republic and how to appropriately reign over the peoples of said state, while at the same time commanding loyalty and respect of its citizens. Machiavelli explains in chapter 5 that the best way to take over and rule a free state is to ultimately destroy it at first. By doing so, Machiavelli points out
He goes even more in-depth saying that if a prince who occupies a free state or republic chooses not destroy it, the risk he is taking is ultimately one of rebellion. This revolution of sorts is brought forth by the long lasting customs retained by the citizens and the memories of the government that was last in power. The second step to a complete takeover is for the prince to physically occupy the state and live there to establish a sense of loyalty to the people and ensure they know that their best interests are in mind. While the third step and final step, is allowing the citizens to live their lives by their own norms, laws, and social standards but still establishing a small, trusted government who is loyal to you to keep your reign safe. Chapter 6 gives the reader a good idea of what Machiavelli considers and appropriate technique of leadership is. He explains that true leaders are also followers in many ways. Machiavelli attributes this to all leaders replicating other great leaders and using their proven methods of ruling as their own. A leader who truly longs to achieve a sense of glory, can only do so by his own prowess, this meaning his own personal accomplishments and expertise. Any
Although some consider his ideals to be harsh and unjust, I believe that in almost all roles of political power, a sovereign will either have to be Machiavellian in areas of leading or lose that power. Machiavelli is a man who recognizes the complexity of the human mind. With the intelligence that he carries, he can manipulate the people of the state. It is difficult to say if Machiavelli, gave this knowledge to the public to control the procurement of powerful roles in government, although, my belief is that he is explaining that to make a city/state work, it’s citizens must have the capacity for loyalty and also must have a mutual respect for the prince. If the citizens are loyal to their sovereign it will come to benefit them as well as the state. If the state is benefited then it prospers as well as the sovereign all the while he gains more power. It seems as though it is a cycle of everyone gets what they want out of their life, as long as they agree on the prince’s terms. The patriotic understanding of America on democracy is that it is ruled by the people and only the people, but it is unlikely that any decent amount of citizens in the USA know the first thing about any kind of leadership in politics, much less have a Machiavellian-like understanding of it. Machiavelli knew