Preview

Niccolo Machiavelli and his influences on modern day leaders

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
892 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Niccolo Machiavelli and his influences on modern day leaders
Niccolo Machiavelli was a creator of political theories in the 1500's. He served the Republic as a diplomatic negotiator and as a military supervisor. When Florence went back to a monarch system, the Medici family return to power and exiled Machiavelli for his past criticisms that he made towards the family. Machiavelli then wrote "The Prince" to complement the Medici family and as a way to regain their approval. A good leader is a person who after leaving his/her country leaves his/her people content, the economy stable and is able to maintain their integrity. Machiavelli's views of war being the most import aspect that a leader must think of, it is okay for a leader to be untruthful and it is better to be feared over loved would not be successful in the 20th century. Machiavelli's ideology of a good leader would not work in today's standards since his ideas our too extreme for our times.

If a leader only pays attention to war, he only supplies safety for his people and neglects the other aspects that are crucial for governing. Focusing on the idea of war, can cause tension that may provoke a war. This feeling that results affects countries immensely as it tends to leave countries in a state of devastation. Adolf Hitler is an example of a leader who caused a war. By putting Germany at war and losing the battle against the Allies, Hitler set his country back many years, causing them to rebuild their society and economy. To further show that war is not the most important factor of governing, is during George Bush Senior's term as a president of the United States. Two major events occurred that affected the American people tremendously. First, the Gulf war; Bush was able to resolve this situation in a short period of time and the American people commended him for it. The second event was the American recession of the 1990s. This fall came late in Bush's term as president. When Bush was up for re-election, he lost to Clinton. Although he had won the war, Bush was not

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Napoleon Bonaparte is a well known political leader of the modern world. His conquests into other European countries and his military knowledge make him the historical legend that he has come to be. He made himself emperor of France and ended the French Revolution. Bonaparte’s successes in France cause him to be revered as a great leader who exemplifies Niccolò Machiavelli’s beliefs regarding the leadership of a country. Machiavelli offers advice to political leaders in his novel, The Prince, which is proven relevant through Napoleon’s ability to be war-minded, feared, and a good leader.…

    • 174 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1494, Florence, Italy was overtaken by France. There the Prince, leader of Florence at the time was the third generation Medici. Given to him was a series of chapters of The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli written in 1513. Niccolo Machiavelli was known for his vast knowledge in politics and literature. Thus after being exiled from Florence by the French, he wrote from experience and vast knowledge to the current prince so he would know how to rule. In order to be a prestige prince, he must always be ready for war, act like a lion and fox, be feared but not hated, and to not take the property of citizen and people, but if it is a new prince having a knowledgeable advisee also…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Machiavelli was a Florentine man of many skills. He was a renowned politician, author, and philosopher during the Renaissance, whose views and opinions affect the way people still think today. The Prince is his most famous work and in it he essentially states that humans are “ungrateful, fickle, deceptive and deceiving”. For that reason, a leader should rule through fear rather than love. However, what Europeans needed during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries were compassionate rulers. They were already frightened and disunited during the middle ages, thus adding a fearful leader to the mix would not help citizens feel safer.…

    • 101 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Prince was written in the 1500’s by Niccolo Machiavelli, whom name became a synonym for crafty plotting. As noted, it is a political and social document, as relevant today as when it first appeared. Machiavelli’s work became thought of as a blueprint for dictators instead of a guide for efficient democratic government. The Prince does not give us all of Machiavelli’s political thinking; however, he devised this reading for the man who seeks power. It treated the most severe problem of Italy, its inferiority in political organization and military strength to nearby states like Spain and France and was addressed to princes like the Lorenzo “The Magnificent” Medici, to whom it was dedicated. As difficult as it was to read, I did not find…

    • 1617 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    People who wanted fame and power in this new world of humanism and self-righteousness had to deserve it. No longer did a supreme authority, such as the pope, appoint officials and leaders. The authority rested in the hands of the person willing to take charge. This approach to gaining wealth and power can be described as Machivellian, named so by the influence of ideologist Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli wrote one of the most influential political books of all time, called the Prince, which is considered the most lasting work on Italian Renaissance. In his novel, Machiavelli writes of " cruelty, well used or badly used," and warns the compassionate and humanistic prince "not to make bad use of this compassion".(Burke p.196) Machiavelli expanded on his belief in the Prince, that Italians should behave with ferocity when it comes to politics, and should back up that ferocity with a unified force. Machiavelli's principles have had a profound effect on the way Europe and the rest of the world have viewed politics over centuries, and truly show the Rennaissance's uncanny trait of promoting individualism and social Darwinism.<br><br>The Italian Renaissance has made a major impact on the rest of Europe, leaving an intellectual and artistic heritage that…

    • 1794 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    War, Politics, Castiglione, and Machiavelli During the Renaissance period, many great minds expressed their ideas and talents to their fullest potential. Neither Baldesar Castiglione nor Niccoló Machiavelli were exceptions. In Castiglione?s greatest work, The Book of the Courtier, he describes the qualities that should be possessed by the perfect courtier in a compilation of made-up conversations between the members of the court of Urbino. In arguably Machiavelli?s best work, The Prince, he sets a number of guidelines that, in his opinion, prospective leaders should follow in order to achieve ?greatness? as a ruler. After studying both of these important pieces, one can clearly see that Castiglione and Machiavelli do indeed possess their own specific views concerning war and politics. If each read the other?s book, Castiglione and Machiavelli would definitely have a response to the advice of one another regarding the topics purpose of war, how fair and honest a ruler should be to his people, and what the most effective type of government is.…

    • 988 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Machiavelli’s The Prince, he tackles of issues in society and the government as a whole. Machiavelli believed a good ruler is one that could give justice and provide some type of order to his citizens. He believed that a good ruler should focus more on the present rather than what could be. Machiavelli used several examples to demonstrate his way of thinking in a humanistic way and running a government. He used the fox and the lion for an example. A good ruler should be able to use cunningness and brute force per situation in which it is called for. Machiavelli believes that there are two ways of fighting something, that is by law or by force and he believed those are…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    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…

    • 1540 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Prince was written by Niccolò Machiavelli while he was in exile. In his efforts to return to politics, Machiavelli wrote the Prince in order to exert the true nature of a successful leader, and once again be in the good graces of the Medici’s who were rising to power in Italy. The Prince reveals what Machiavelli views to be a successful leader. The Prince also reveals how Machiavelli views the nature of humans and how that effects how a dictator/leader should rule. Machiavelli believes human beings are selfish, greedy, easily manipulated, and incapable of self-governing as it often ends in their own demise. “[F]or men change their rulers willingly, hoping to better themselves, and this hope induces them to take up arms against him who rules: wherein they are deceived, because they afterwards find by experience they have gone from bad to worse” (Machiavelli 201). Human selfishness inhibits the individual’s ability to make rational long-term decisions thus deeming them incapable of self-governing. If given the people the right to make their own decisions, their greed ill cloud their judgment and cause them to make decisions that may not be in their best interest. If the society is not capable of self-governing they will need a strong leader and Machiavelli has the recipe for the perfect…

    • 1869 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli's the Prince

    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages

    "The state is the highest achievement of man, a progressive and elaborate creation of his free will. The individual, the leader, the people, cooperate in maintaining it." This idea of state was put forth by Niccolo Machiavelli in The Prince, which was in essence a ruler's handbook to governing and maintaining his land. Machiavelli conjured his theories for government by basing his ideas in his belief that men, especially men in power, tend to follow the same directions, and therefore by looking at past leaders and their follies we can better determine how to run a state. "Men are always the same and are animated by the same passions that lead them fatally to the same decisions, acts, an results…. That one can foresee the course of political development by mediating upon the cycles and phases of historical events, and that essential to a statesman is not only the experience of modern events and constant study of the past. But also the ability to exploit this knowledge in actual political actions."…

    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During Niccolỏ Machiavelli’s lifetime, Italy’s city-states were in turmoil, and he was extremely interested in the politics behind the chaos.1 Machiavelli advised principalities on the proper way to conduct themselves by using his study of human nature. His understanding of human greed, disloyalty, and predictability created a vision of politics that utilizes power for a prince to maintain stability. Machiavelli created power-politics, his vision of how to stabilize a principality, in The Prince.…

    • 1205 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli: The Prince

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Throughout my reading of Machiavelli, a particular selection struck me as very interesting. This comes from Chapter 17 when Machiavelli states, “Here a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse. The answer is, of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved. . . . Love endures by a bond, which men, being scoundrels, may break whenever it serves their advantage to do so; but fear is supported by the dread of pain, which is ever present (Machiavelli 54). I believe this is an interesting question that would be a good topic for debate. Regarding this question, I side with Machiavelli on his reasoning that it is more beneficial to be feared then loved with regards to obedience. Examples of this principle can be seen in our world today. Laws demonstrate this very well. Laws are present to keep society in order, and with disobedience comes penalties. These penalties are what make people obey the law. Without penalties, or using the term pain in an exaggerated sense, most people would continue to break the law being aware that there are no consequences. Fear is what fuels laws to be effective.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    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…

    • 1933 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays