Luke Pelagio Due 5/27/2011 Period 4 Machiavelli: Realism Over Idealism Nicolo Machiavelli is known as being an archetypical realist; in other words‚ he was someone who originated the idea that we should not try to figure out how people should be‚ but rather accept and deal with the world as it literally is. Unlike Machiavelli‚ Plato posited an idealist view of a philosopher king reigning through virtue. To Machiavelli‚ this is an extremely dangerous delusion for it ignores what he considers
Premium Political philosophy President of the United States Watergate scandal
Lao-tzu vs. Machiavelli Government is the essential authority of a country or state‚ which directly affects society because it provides key securities. How directly involved should the government be in the personal lives of society? To answer this I will look to the ideas of Lao-tzu (sixth century B.C.)‚ believed to be author of the Tao-te Ching‚ and Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527)‚ author of The Prince There are few ways in which they are similar‚ but have very opposite views and ideas of government
Premium Political philosophy Government Thing
The Qualities of a Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli In The Qualities of a Prince‚ Niccolo Machiavelli discusses the attributes that he believes make for a good leader. Although Machiavelli wrote The Qualities of a Prince centuries ago‚ some of the qualities he advises a prince to have can be adapted to the leaders of today. Some of these qualities include being generous and being feared by the public. Machiavelli claims that if “generosity is used in such a manner as to give you a reputation
Premium Political philosophy Catholic Church Vatican City
Lao-tzu vs. Machiavelli Government is the essential authority of a country or state‚ which is directly‚ affects society because it provides key securities. Two of history’s greatest thinkers Lao-tzu‚ authors of the Tao-te Ching‚ and Niccolo Machiavelli‚ author of The Prince have similar but very contrasting ideas of government‚ and how people should be governed. Lao-tzu was born in the Chinese state of Ch’u. He spent most of his life working in the library of the Chou dynasty. Once he decided to
Premium Political philosophy Cesare Borgia Florence
cannot be by nature good. This extreme can be found in the works of Machiavelli and Schmitt. Machiavelli’s The Prince is known as a significant elaboration of rather cynical political strategies and tactics that the rulers should adopt. But Machiavelli’s focus on the figure of prince is grounded in a certain anthropology. Basically‚ it is this negative anthropology that Schmitt mentioned a few centuries later. According to Machiavelli‚ ’one can say this generally of men: that they are ungrateful‚ pretenders
Premium Political philosophy The Prince Cesare Borgia
Machiavelli Essay Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a political phenomena called The Prince to state how a leader should rule his country. He stressed the importance of retaining power by have the support of your people and stabilizing a government. To maintain the support of your people you must be both feared and loved by being cruel‚ but morally right. Niccolo claims that another balance must be struck between being stingy and liberal. Our republican form of government could use such ideas as Machiavelli
Premium Political philosophy North Korea Cesare Borgia
Reading the works of Machiavelli and Lao-Tzu in succession highlight how truly at opposition the messages are. Though both pieces express the desired way to govern a people‚ the “Tao-te Ching” speaks of peace‚ simplicity‚ and letting the universe work its will‚ while “The Qualities of the Prince” emphasizes the necessity for war‚ and the natural wickedness of men. There are no particular reasons that these two ways of thought should be in harmony‚ one written in the 6th century‚ and the other the
Premium Political philosophy The Prince Ethics
Machiavelli’s views of the citizen-warrior as misogynistic? – Feminists see Machiavelli’s views of a warrior as misogynistic because he believes that for human excellence to be achieved‚ they must constantly strive for power. Tickner states that Machiavelli brought back the ideology of a citizen-warrior in Europe during the sixteenth century. Moving forward‚ Morgenthau reimbursed the idea of a citizen-warrior in the 20th century. This goes to show that throughout history‚ war‚ and warriors‚ are all
Premium Political philosophy The Prince Cesare Borgia
examining the political philosophy of Niccolo Machiavelli one should not expect to reach a hasty or even concrete conclusion; instead an inconclusive conversation on a topic that is unfathomably complex. In much of the contemporary literature concerning the writings of Machiavelli‚ he is portrayed as the classical Florentine ‘civic humanist’- a tradition awarded to ideals of nationalism‚ republican government and civic duty. As it is often supposed‚ Machiavelli was no pioneer of political thought or herald
Premium Political philosophy The Prince Religion
Niccoló Machiavelli‚ in The Qualities of the Prince‚ gives the qualities a prince should have to maintain his power‚ or for an aspiring prince to acquire the throne. Martin Luther King‚ as a leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement‚ did not aspire to the throne but to freedom and justice for the African-American community. In this context‚ he wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail which was addressed to the clergymen who had previously sent him a letter that criticized his
Premium Letter from Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King, Jr. Political philosophy