Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Leadership and Human nature
Abdelhay Aboushaban
Northern Virginia Community College
Author’s Note:
Your name, Department, University
This paper is a partial fulfillment for the subject ________, under Professor ________.
Leadership and Human nature
For Machiavelli, a genuine leader is the leader that is often feared by people. Therefore, a good relationship between a leader and his people is the one that is never equal – the leader should always keep that air of superiority, of being fearsome, in order to maintain for statesmanship. Another point made by Machiavelli is that human nature can be extremely flimsy, as it depends on a person’s circumstance. Machiavelli’s The Prince is one of the most …show more content…
According to him, “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, Chapter 17). For him, people are (generally) only interested with themselves. They will be happy and content as long as there are no horrible and untoward events that will happen to them. Thus, in times of strife and adversity, people may become dishonest and selfish even if they were not back when they were prosperous (Chapter 25, on Virtue and Fortuna). Goodwill can be achieved when trust has been established between two parties. This can be achieved by receiving services from another person. This can also be seen as loyalty, which is vital in a Machiavellian setting. However, loyalty and goodwill are fleeting. Also, according to Machiavelli, most people (the common people) are content with the status quo, and that ambitious people are those who have experienced power at some point in their lives. This can be Machiavellian leadership’s shortcomings as it largely depends on human relationships and
Leadership and Human nature
Abdelhay Aboushaban
Northern Virginia Community College
Author’s Note:
Your name, Department, University
This paper is a partial fulfillment for the subject ________, under Professor ________.
Leadership and Human nature
For Machiavelli, a genuine leader is the leader that is often feared by people. Therefore, a good relationship between a leader and his people is the one that is never equal – the leader should always keep that air of superiority, of being fearsome, in order to maintain for statesmanship. Another point made by Machiavelli is that human nature can be extremely flimsy, as it depends on a person’s circumstance. Machiavelli’s The Prince is one of the most …show more content…
According to him, “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, Chapter 17). For him, people are (generally) only interested with themselves. They will be happy and content as long as there are no horrible and untoward events that will happen to them. Thus, in times of strife and adversity, people may become dishonest and selfish even if they were not back when they were prosperous (Chapter 25, on Virtue and Fortuna). Goodwill can be achieved when trust has been established between two parties. This can be achieved by receiving services from another person. This can also be seen as loyalty, which is vital in a Machiavellian setting. However, loyalty and goodwill are fleeting. Also, according to Machiavelli, most people (the common people) are content with the status quo, and that ambitious people are those who have experienced power at some point in their lives. This can be Machiavellian leadership’s shortcomings as it largely depends on human relationships and