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Comparing Machiavelli's Views On Leadership And Fear

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Colter Tuttle P.4 Machiavelli Essay Machiavelli argues that a leader should be both loved and feared, but if you had to pick one, pick fear. He favors fear over being loved, because it is safer for the leader to have his followers fear him than love him. It is easier to betray someone that you have love for, than someone that you fear. Machiavelli also believes that when you have an army, in order to keep them in harmony, they would have to fear you and respect your abilities as a leader. If they had no fear of their leader they would not be as united as they would be if they solely respected him. Machiavelli believes that you have to balance mercy and cruelty, because if you are too merciful then your people will not respect you or have …show more content…

In Machiavelli’s opinion, men are fickle, ungrateful, selfish, and unpredictable. Machiavelli says, “Men have less hesitation in injuring one who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared, for love is held by a chain of duty which, since men are bad, they break at every chance at their own profit; but fear is held by a dread of punishment that never fails you.” This way of thinking is very safe, when you cannot predict the outcomes of your people you should be feared by them. I think that is a very smart way of thinking, because it is truly easier to betray the people that you love than the people that you fear. The people that you love are easy to betray, so why would a leader want to be loved and have the possibility of being betrayed, because he cannot balance both being loved and feared. He should choose to …show more content…

It is difficult to try to balance the two in harmony. A feared leader has less probability to be taken from power, murdered, and more of a chance to be respected, and have loyal armies. A leader that is loved is more easy to be seen as weak, as a feared leader would be seen as cruel, but needed in order for them to survive. A feared leader may not be what the people want, but it is something that they truly do need. A leader cannot have too much mercy because his people will not take him seriously, but he would be loved for doing so. In my opinion I believe that any great leader should choose to be feared rather than loved if he has the choice to do

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