ipl-logo

Machiavelli's Views On Commoners

469 Words2 Pages

In The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli, an Italian philosopher, and politician, writes about his views on human nature, politics, and leadership. Machiavelli states that commoners and nobility are in natural conflict, with the nobility wanting to control and oppress commoners and the commoners trying to avoid oppression. How Machiavelli viewed commoners and nobility reflects the political climate of 16th-century Italy and has significantly impacted the study of leadership theory and practice, even today. His observations in Renaissance Italy shaped his views on commoners and nobles and how power is acquired and used as a ruler. This paper will discuss Machiavelli's views on commoners and nobility and how these may affect leadership styles. Machiavelli …show more content…

Machiavelli states rulers should gain and maintain power by whatever means possible, even brutality and manipulation. Machiavelli also believed that commoners were only loyal to their leaders when their needs were met. He thought manipulation should be used to convince the commoners that their needs and interest were met. Overall, Machiavelli viewed the commoners as an essential source of power for leaders, felt they were somewhat challenging to control, and must be carefully governed to gain stability in the state and avoid insurrection (Machiavelli, 1532/2003). Machiavelli viewed the nobility also as a crucial piece of maintaining political power and creating stability. Machiavelli believed the nobility was more rational and stable, with a sense of responsibility to their states. He also acknowledged that the noble class was more likely to act THE PRINCE 3 out of tradition for the state's interest rather than their own needs, thus more suitable for leadership roles. Still, the nobles remained extremely dangerous if their interests did not align with their rulers. Because of this, Machiavelli thought it essential to have the backing of the nobility but warned that they should be carefully managed and not given too much power so

Show More
Related

Why Is The Prince A Devoidedly Unmedieval Piece Of Work

456 Words | 2 Pages

The Prince: A Decidedly unMedieval Piece of Work The Prince, written by Niccolo Machiavelli, was a secular handbook that dealt with modern statecraft and leadership. In fact, this was the first modern book that discussed political science. This book has influenced many well-known leaders, such as Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. This essay will discuss the past behaviours of Machiavelli to prove that this book, The Prince, is a decidedly unMedieval piece of work which does not follow the idea of living life so that it is worthy of respect and honour, as stated in the Medieval Code of Chivalry.

Read More

Was Machiavelli's Ideal To Be Liberal Or Recluse

191 Words | 1 Pages

Machiavelli's logic is fundamentally to end up a decent pioneer you should do anything even it is corrupt and off-base. He first composes that a ruler's obligation concerning military matter should dependably consider war just, even in times of peace. They should know their surroundings precisely so they can safeguard and make compelling methodologies to counter the adversary's assault. They should likewise know verifiable fights so they will have the capacity to take in their strategies and enhance it. He then discusses the sovereign's way; ought to the ruler be liberal or a recluse.

Read More

Thomas Jefferson And Niccolo Machiavelli's The Morals Of The Prince

762 Words | 4 Pages

Machiavelli argues the perfect prince will be both feared and loved by his people, and if unable to be both he will make himself feared and not hated. Machiavelli believes it is much safer to be feared than to be loved because people are less likely to offend and stand up against strong characters, also people are less concerned in offending a prince who has made himself loved. Accordingly, Machiavelli believes generosity is harmful to your reputation and the choice between being generous or stingy, merciful or cruel, honest or deceitful, should only be important if it aids the prince in political power. All in all, Machiavelli believes the ruler must be a great deceiver and do what is essential to uphold power over the

Read More

Machiavelli's Tupac Shakur: An Analysis

505 Words | 3 Pages

When you hear the name Machiavelli what do you think of? Malevolence, dictatorship, or Tupac Shakur? What you should think about is cunning or unscrupulousness, “The ends justify the means.” The father of modern political theory, Niccolo Machiavelli was a 15th century political theorist and advisor who insisted we shouldn’t think that politicians are bad or unelectable for manipulating people. In Machiavelli’s distinct view a worthy politician isn’t honest and moral.

Read More

The Prince Vs Sir Thomas More Rhetorical Analysis

426 Words | 2 Pages

Regarding the proper role of a ruler, Machiavelli is more convincing in The Prince than Sir Thomas More is in Utopia because Machiavelli is able to use demeaning diction in a brusque writing style to create a stronger emotional appeal between the reader and his pessimistic ideals. In his book addressed to the ruling Medici family of Florence, Machiavelli stresses the importance of using cruelty to subdue a population, claiming that “men...are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous… [and love] is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails” (Machiavelli). By using cynical diction to describe the nature of humans, Machiavelli makes the reader feel disgusted at the thought of their disloyalty, thus making rulers more receptive to Machiavelli’s negative approach to ruling as it satisfies the desire within the reader to fight fire with fire.

Read More

How Does Machiavelli Support Secular Humanism

688 Words | 3 Pages

Thesis:This essay will argue that Machiavelli supported secular humanism but not civic humanism. In particular, this essay will focus on how Machiavelli condoned immoral acts and believed that fear should be prioritised over love in politics. Furthermore, he thinks that it is more important to appear liberal than actually practice liberalism Throughout his book, The prince, Machiavelli stressed that it is not advised for a ruler to always be morally upright, at least not in the conventional sense (http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2014/entries/machiavelli/). He even condones certain acts by individuals which would be considered conventionally immoral, such as Romulus murdering his own brother ( Machiavelli The discourses ex.132-133).

Read More

Similarities Between Machiavelli's Views Of Commoners And Nobility

541 Words | 3 Pages

2 Machiavelli?s Views of Commoners and Nobility Delena Leann Burchfield University of the Cumberlands LEAC 834: Leadership in Historical Context Dr. Michael B. Colegrove March 13, 2023 Machiavelli's Views of Commoners and Nobility ? ? ? ? ? ? Niccol? Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat who work for Prince Cesare Borgia. Machiavelli wrote the handbook for princes called The Prince. Machiavelli's name became synonymous with evil because of his cruel views on how a prince should act.

Read More

George Orwell Tyrant

551 Words | 3 Pages

In Machiavelli’s “The Morals of the Prince” the idea of a ruler’s/ tyrant’s obligation to his people is also presented. In one section, Machiavelli talks a ruler’s best way to navigate himself through leadership. Machiavelli weighs between the importance of being generous and self-preservative. A ruler risks his entire welfare for the sake of being seen as benevolent. He states, “A prince of character is bound to use up his entire revenue in works of ostentation...

Read More

Maximum Ride Book Report

1228 Words | 5 Pages

As a prince there are many tasks you must follow to be successful. It is not an easy task to rule an entire kingdom. Machiavelli is a well known italian politician who wrote “The Prince” in 1532. Machiavelli proposes cruel tactics in order to preserve power. He argues that using people instead of helping them is the only way to be a successful prince.

Read More

Dictatorship With Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince

672 Words | 3 Pages

Comparing Adolf Hitler’s vicious dictatorship with Niccolò Machiavelli's teachings in The Prince reveals an eerie resemblance between both approaches to maintaining power. Both utilize a combination of force and cunning manipulation—Hitler through his indoctrination of propaganda and secret police forces while Machiavelli advocated for rulers who employed deception as well as outright strength. Adolf Hitler is a notorious figure who continues to have a significant impact on the present-day. An analysis of his rise to power and leadership style provides insights into Machiavellian principles discussed in Chapter 18 of The Prince. Despite his appalling actions, an exploration of Machiavellian theory can provide context and understanding.

Read More

How Did Machiavelli's View Of Government

2187 Words | 9 Pages

The knowledge of past forms of states and regimes gave him an insight into the way to best govern a people. “Machiavelli's vision of government is based on the individual power of a prince or other ruler. In The Prince (1513) he argues that a ruler must be willing to defy ordinary morality, if necessary, to preserve the state. In his view, the prince must be ready to rule by fear rather than love and to focus on military capability. ”(Political Thought)

Read More

Human Nature In The Prince By Niccolo Machiavelli

1072 Words | 5 Pages

Niccolo Machiavelli was a standout amongst the well-known philosophers of the Italian Renaissance. He exhibited a drastically unique view of how a prince should run his state than other political philosophers of the time. From his perception of Italian governmental issues and the Medici Family, he believed that Italy required a ruler who could take control over the state and maintain its political power. With this new perspective of politics, Machiavelli wrote his most famous book, The Prince, to draw a line among politics and morals, and accentuated how human nature should attribute to the state should continue to maintain its statue by analyzing historical facts and events. Machiavelli seemed to have a critical look regarding human nature.

Read More

Machiavelli's Use Of Lying And Deception In Politics

954 Words | 4 Pages

One aspect of Machiavelli’s theory which significantly contributes to his reputation as the “philosopher of evil,” is his advice to the prince on keeping their word to the public. In chapter eighteen, Machiavelli states, “a wise ruler cannot, and should not, keep his word when doing so is to his disadvantage, and when the reasons that led him to promise to do so no longer apply” (pg. 37). To simplify, Machiavelli says princes are obligated to lie in certain circumstances. He also states that while it is unnecessary for the prince to have positive qualities, such as honesty, trustworthiness, sympathy, compassion, or be religious, it is essential for the prince to be viewed so by the public (pg. 37). While many people argue that Machiavelli’s legitimization of lying and deception in politics is immoral, I argue the opposite.

Read More

The Prince Machiavellian Analysis

1704 Words | 7 Pages

Politics is not an art for the weak of heart or feeble of mind. For it is a horrific discipline borne out of the need to prevent different segments of society from annihilating each other; achieved through cruel means done for the objective of preventing even more potentially pernicious outcomes. Requiring a great degree of rationality and emotional detachment in order to achieve that end. When confronted with this insurmountable task, it seems rather unreasonable that western intellectuals have thoroughly stigmatized Machiavellian thought in all its incarnations. Despite the fact that the ideas outlined in The Prince and Machiavelli’s various other works merely establish a practical set of conduct which enables the achievement of those ends.

Read More

Erasmus Vs Machiavelli

1034 Words | 5 Pages

Machiavelli has the most correct ideas on both controlling the people as a ruler and on being remembered as a great one. These two viewpoints had great influence during their time and for centuries to come, both with modern ideas and correct ideas even though they had a lot of contrast. Machiavelli’s The Prince may be thought of the more recognizable of the two in the present, but people in the present day have many of the same ideas that

Read More

More about Machiavelli's Views On Commoners

Related Topics

Open Document