Machiavelli believes that a government should be very structured, controlled, and powerful. He makes it known that the only priorities of a prince are war, the institutions, and discipline. His writings describes how it is more important for a prince to be practical than moral. This is shown where he writes, "in order to maintain the state he is often obliged to act against his promise, against charity, against humanity, and against religion" (47). In addition, Machiavelli argues that a prince may have to be cunning and deceitful in order to maintain political power. He takes the stance that it is better for the prince to be feared than loved. His view of how a government should run and his unethical conduct are both early signs of dictatorship.…
Contrary to popular belief, Machiavelli is not a diabolic political figure in search of power. He is instead an astute politician who uses his extensive knowledge of politics to analyze various princes and principalities in order to educate future…
In "The Qualities of the Prince," Niccolo Machiavelli describes how he believes a prince should rule. He had "studied the way people lived and aimed to inform leaders" of his research (par.10). He viewed "misery as one of the vices that enables a prince to rule," using techniques like deceiving and manipulating in order to accomplish a certain task (par.12). Machiavelli focuses on qualities such as Military skills, generosity and miserly and whether a prince should be loved or feared in order to be successful. One similar to these characteristics was Andrew Jackson. Jackson was a strong, aggressive political leader, who worked his way into office and overcame many obstacles during his presidency. He first joined the military at an early…
Lastly, both Hobbes and Machiavelli agree in their opinion of man what is one that is very negative. In the novel The Prince, Machiavelli states that men are “ungrateful, fickle, deceptive, and deceiving, avoiders of danger, eager to gain” (Machiavelli < 1542 > 2006). Similarly, in the novel Leviathan, Hobbes states how the life of a man is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (Hobbes < 1651 > 2009). This shows how both Machiavelli and Hobbes see men and their lives as very negative aspects, but differ in what there perspectives are of it. Machiavelli explains how men are unreliable and not worth trusting when Hobbes is explaining how life naturally is terrible and without sovereignty, life and man are nothing.…
Machiavelli's philosophy was that "The end justifies the means." This meant that the end result is the most important, and how you got there was of no importance. The Prince was a book of advice to rules on how to found a state and how to stay in power. Machiavelli explained in his book the many different ways to gain power. One way was to acquire land. The four methods that he discusses to acquire more land is: Your own arms and virtue, fortune, others' arms, and inequity. To Machiavelli, the word virtue meant manliness and strength. Machiavelli also advocates the use of evil to achieve any goals. He gives an example of Agathocles of Syracuse as a proof that this works and will enable the prince to rule the land peacefully through fear. "Born of a potter, this one always had an iniquitous life throughout his years: nonetheless, he accomplished his iniquities with such virtue of spirit and of body that, having joined the militia, he rose through its ranks to become praetor of Syracuse. Being established in rank, and having decided to become prince and to keep with violence and without obligation to others what had been conceded him by agreement... ...one morning he convened the people and the senate of Syracuse, as if he had had to deliberate things pertinent to the republic; and at a preordained nod…
The Renaissance and the Middle Ages had very different values, which affected how their leaders ruled. Machiavelli and Henry V had many differences, but also had common ground. Although neither was a better leader than the other, their times definitely influenced how they used their power. Machiavelli was more prone to intimidation, by invoking fear within his people, while Henry looked to be loved. Henry was not one to use deceit either, while Machiavelli felt that the ends justified the means. Clearly, these two leaders were very different, and their religious views emphasize this discrepancy.…
When Machiavelli wrote "The Prince" in the 1500's, his intentions did not apply to the twentieth century. Some very important figures of the twentieth century used basic ideals from "The Prince" to obtain and maintain their position in power. One of these individuals was Adolf Hitler. Hitler used numerous Machiavellian ideas to win his respective place in Germany's government. The two most important Machiavellian principles that Hitler used were winning the people and how he dealt with cruelty and murder.Adolf Hitler, the self-proclaimed "savior" of the German people, was an insecure, egotistical man, who ominously controlled the German people. Hitler thought that he could change things with force, which soon got him into trouble, and landed him in jail. During his time in jail, Hitler had turned over direction of the Nazi party to Alfred Rosenberg. Rosenberg edited the party's newspaper, Popular Observer, but had no administrative ability. As a result, Hitler easily resumed complete control of the party upon his release in December 1924. In the years from 1925 to 1930; Hitler built up a network of local party organizations over most of Germany. Hitler's mass of followers began to grow, and soon those who didn't follow him became the minority. Hitler gained political power soon after his reign of terror began, ending with the deaths of over 6 million Jews that were persecuted by the Nazis, because they were supposedly the problem in Germany (Schramm 13).One of the Machiavellian principles that Hitler used to rise to power was gaining the full trust of the German people. Hitler was able to do this through his powerful public speeches. He is often referred to as one of the world's greatest speakers (Schramm 13). He believed that everyone should hear his speeches. In order to make this possible, the German government manufactured thousands of cheap radios that were made available for the general public. These radios were only powerful enough to pick up broadcasts…
The first similarity that comes in mind when talking about these two infamous leaders is their troubled childhood. Both of them were known to have suffered losses that affected them negatively and caused them to be corrupted. Lord Voldemort was the son of the witch Merope Gaunt and muggle (a non wizard) Tom Riddle, whom Merope ensnared with a love potion. When her husband discovers she was a witch, he abandons her while she is pregnant. Instead of choosing to live for her son, “[she] chose death in spite of a son who needed her” and Tom 's mother died shortly after giving birth to him on December 31st, living just long enough to christen him with the ordinary name, Tom Riddle (Rowling 262). Just like Lord Voldemort, Hitler also had a childhood burdened with abandonment and heavy losses.…
These two dictators were also similar in their brutality and cruelty. Macbeth forced himself into power by committing a murder, killing King Duncan (act II, scene I, lines 63-65). When Hitler was sworn in as chancellor heading a coalition government, he brought along a group who would murder anyone that opposed him on political issues called “The Stormtroopers” (Chris Brambery, 2008). The Stormtroopers got…
Machiavelli’s The Prince is a comprehensive guide on how a prince should govern. Written in 1513, it addresses a multitude of topics, including whether one should be feared or loved, how to avoid hatred, and how a prince should spend his money. While the advice was more applicable in the Renaissance, when most rulers governed with absolute power, either in their city state or their country, it does not apply well to today, when institutions such as parliaments and congresses exist to check the power of nation’s rulers. This is easily seen through Machiavelli’s advice on cruelty and being feared versus being loved.…
to comprehend fully the nature of the people, one must be a prince, and to comprehend fully the nature of the princes, one must be an ordinary citizen.” (pg. 4). In stating so, he implies that he knows best, which may not be entirely false, as throughout the book he has managed to present arguments and counterarguments supporting his idea that there is such a thing as a necessary evil, yet that doesn’t mean one should be a ruthless king. This book is a selfish, deceitful and pessimistic guide on how to get and maintain a position of power, yet it should be noted that most of the examples presented are an invocation of a previously prevailing system, not his invention. Machiavelli’s “The Prince” is ultimately a handbook for those who aspire to gain political stability in the sixteenth century, therefore, Machiavelli is neither the devil incarnated nor immoral, he is indeed the messenger of a harsh…
Niccolo Machiavelli, known as the founding father of modern Political Science, lived between 1469 and 1752 in Florence in what is known today as Italy. He is not only known for his work in politics and diplomacy, as he was also a well-versed historian. He employed the method of citing historic figures and events in his justification for the suggestions he made in his famous book: The Prince. In the book that was dedicated to Lorenzo Medici, Machiavelli raises many important aspects relating to the political environment, governance and ethics of an individual in possession of political power citing political actions that should and should not be taken, the state briefly and violence in governing which is studied by political philosophers today as there are many ancient concepts…
Niccoló Machiavelli, famous Italian political philosopher and author of The Prince, was the first to develop the idea that political morality differs from and is not bounded by the usual ethical norms and insists that power is the decisive factor in political life. Within The Prince, Machiavelli blames earlier political writers for having discussed republics and principalities that have never been seen or known to exist in reality and for concerning themselves with how men ought to live instead of how men actually live. Because Machiavelli bases his arguments on inherent human character, he argues that people are undependable by nature and maintains that it is better to be feared than loved if a union of the two is…
First, Machiavelli found the truth of political ethics according to his moral and ethical beliefs, but he did not develop the truth into a good side. Since he claimed that force maybe used to eliminate political rivals, to coerce resistant populations, and to purge the community of other men strong enough of character to rule, who will inevitably attempt to replace the ruler, Machiavelli has become infamous for such political advice. By looking the armed clash in Syria today, force is not a good solution, and it can only cause injuries and deaths. The truth is not always good. On the contrary, most of the truths are ugly. Although Machiavelli advised the truth to the prince, he was evil because of telling the ugly truth.…
When it came to politics both philosophers believed that only one man should be in power. This way people wouldn’t govern themselves and the country wouldn’t be “…considered in the nature of war” according to Hobbes. (44, Kellerman) Machiavelli and Hobbes both believed that whomever the ruler maybe that he must rule by using fear, but not to the point of being hated. They need to uphold the law and punish those who break it to keep the fear in the people, but yet not become a tyrant to where people begin to hate you. Both of the philosophers main focus was how to not only gain power, but to maintain power as well. Machiavelli said that “The prince should nonetheless make himself feared in such a mode that if he does not acquire love, he escapes hatred…”(35, Kellerman) I find this to be one of Machiavelli’s main points because he said you must find a middle place between feared and love, and because fear is not the same thing as hatred, that is what you must do to maintain power.…