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Shield Logic In The Prince Essay

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Shield logic plays an important role in Machiavelli’s The Prince. The book is written as a sort of how to guide for new princes to rule. Desire his ruthless reputation, his main concern was the means to which best provided the state the stability to thrive. Machiavelli’s book is filled with all kinds of contrasting thoughts as he understood that only certain situations called for shield logic, while others required different kinds of persuasive power manipulation. This is vitally important, and is the main reason why I believe Machiavelli is the most successful at using shield logic to benefit the control of the prince. He understands how the prince must be seen by his people through layers and never as he is. He cites the power of being viewed …show more content…

One example of this is when Caesar Borgia placed the control of Romagnia to Messer Remiro d’Orco who ruled with violence force to quell those wishing for retribution. D’ Orco using the claim “get in line or die” and Borgia as an extension became heavily hated as leaving an unstable Romagnia (Erickson, 2010, 66). To regain the trust of the population, Borgia secretly arrested d’Orco and publicly executed him in the night. His body was left on display, and become a message for the people that it was Borgia who was in control as the undeniable protector of the people of Romagnia. This action was not done with the intention to be cruel, but instead to be pragmatic, as with one death (of a leader who killed many), Borgia regained the stability of his state. This single killing left the people with their need for revenge satisfied, and redirected an appropriate amount of fear towards Borgia earning the respectful fear of his subjects (Minter, 1992, 8). Thus, Machiavelli explores the nuances of when to use the shield as he understands that the reality of the prince must be separate from the public image of the prince to exude

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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.

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Then for Machiavelli he talks about how a prince should show no fear instead for him to show that he is the one with power. That a prince's people should fear him. Both authors go on to talk on how their people react based on the prince and princesse act. The authors then go on to explain how they should view and run their people. Both authors also reflect the fact that the way their people are going to act towards them is mainly based off of how they treat them.

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Machiavelli’s arguments in his work The Prince, surrounding ruling and the concept of dirty hands, were utilised in Michael Walzer’s political piece titled, Political Action: The Problem of Dirty Hands. Walzer uses Machiavelli’s commentary to advance many of his central points. Throughout his comprehensive article, Walzer effectively utilizes Machiavelli’s arguments that consistently stays true those in The Prince and provides a persuasive reading. In order to understand Walzer’s commentary, it is first important to have an understanding of Machiavelli’s The Prince.

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In Niccolo Machiavelli's book, The Prince (1513), he evaluates on how a prince can be a successful leader. Machiavelli’s purpose of this guidebook was to construct his argument to the rising ruler Giuliano de Medici for when he comes to power in Florence. He adopts a casual but authoritative tone in order to convince the prince that Machiavelli’s evaluation on how to be the best prince, is the right thing for the prince to do without coming off as he knows more than the prince or is trying to intimidate him.. Machiavelli’s reference to previous rulers and whether their tactics failed or succeeded helps to benefit his credibility along with his allusion to historic text. He appeals to our logic by simply stating a prince can only do what is within his power to control, and his use of an analogy furthers his argument.

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He urges those in power that if they “ want to keep their post must learn how not to be good, and use that knowledge, or refrain from using it, as necessity requires” (863). His ideas are actually showing that people in power remain so because they have the ability to do good but avoid doing so. Public policy is based on principles, yet politicians don’t create public policies that can do good for the people because they fear loss of power. In this case he is utilizing public policy to protect his power and therefore defending his personal interest. Furthering claims, he asserts “Since a prince cannot use this virtue of liberality in such as to become known for it unless he harms his own security”(865).

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In comparison, Machiavelli explains that the prince should be in control and lead with his military instead of with his people. However, Machiavelli believes the prince’s power should not be forced, because it will never succeed.

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State-led gentrification refers to the process where policies and initatives driven by the government facilitate gentrification, which of is seen as a widespread contovisal topic within the modern sustain society. This generayes the process of urban development, where lower income neighbourhoods undergo considerable change to create more of a appeal towards those of a middle and high income society. This process implemented by the government as a urban ‘renewal’ transformation causes an inflow of wealthier new residents to move in at the cost of evictioning existing residents in the area demonstrating the impacts surrounding the use of state-led gentrification. This essay will critically assess and evulate the impacts of state-led gentrification

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Machiavelli has clearly started a lot of thought on how the school of Realism operates. Though his view on humans and some of his methods may be extreme, The Prince and the Discourses shows a lot of insight on what do if a prince wants to hold his power and what action should be done to do

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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.

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According to Machiavelli, a prince who keeps his promises is generally praised. But history demonstrates that most success is achieved when princes are crafty, tricky and able to deceive others. A prince can fight or succeed by using law or by using force. The use of law comes naturally to men and the use of force comes naturally to beasts. Hence, to achieve success, the prince must learn to fight with a balance between both law and force.

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In Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, he maintains a harsh perspective on reality. His advice on how to maintain power leaves no room for compassion or generousity. While some may believe that these are qualities of a good person, Machiavelli believes these qualities lead to the downfall of rulers. He acknowledges that, in reality, it is impossible for someone to have qualities of a good person and simultaneously a good ruler. Machiavelli’s realistic outlook causes him to emphasize that it is better to maintain power through fear, rather than compassion.

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According to him, rulers should know their respective limits when it comes to the force and violence they inflict. Machiavelli believes that maximizing betrayal, deception and other cruel acts aren’t considered talents. Although these methods are effective in gaining empire, these don’t help in getting glory. Therefore, using violence and cruelty may be necessary but should have limits. The prince must know up to what extent his violence should be inflicted upon and he must do it all at once to avoid the hatred and resentment from his

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I. Machiavelli In his famous work the Prince Niccolo Machiavelli exposes what it takes to be a good prince and how only this good price and keep control over his state. There are many different qualities that make a man a good ruler but there are some that are more essential than others. In this work Machiavelli stresses the importance of being a warrior prince, a wise prince, and knowing how to navigate the duality of virtù and vices. Without these attributes there was no way that a prince could hold together their state and their people.

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