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The Prince Research Paper

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1 903134j Western International High School Topic 1 The Prince 1.20.15 Although many have argued their beliefs as to why Machiavelli wrote The Prince, I believe that his intent was to show the common man the mindset that rulers have when they are operating. The common mistake others have made throughout the past is not realizing that what Machiavelli wrote and taught was for the greater good. Machiavelli did not want to tell those who ruled over kingdoms how to rule, but rather show how his beliefs could better the kingdom for everyone within. It is true, that in Machiavelli’s work he essentially made a list of things a ruler must do or follow to achieve success, but he himself was not a constructive dictator. He was a philosopher. …show more content…

Machiavelli didn’t care if people of high power thought what he did was wrong. All he really wanted to achieve in his writing was making it seem like he cared about the well being of the kingdom. This approach reveals his ethics and what he thought was right to help the kingdom. He isn’t telling anyone what to do. The following quote shows one of his ideas for controlling the people, “Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception”, as stated in The Prince. The implication is that one shouldn’t make oneself seem bad by forcing people if it is not necessary. What kind of a person lets other people know that his intentions are to deceive if he hypothetically wants to become a …show more content…

Machiavelli preferred fear. It is the best way to keep order and to this day still is. He believed morality had little to do with politics, therefore he didn’t care who died and who lived. Just because a person is part of your kingdom, it doesn’t assure that they will be faithful to his or her ruler. Some kind of punishment or threat is needed. Betraying your country can result in the death penalty and most people fear death. If one shows love, it may show favoritism and to show that means that there would be envious people and some would hate the ruler. It might be a good idea for outside countries to fear ones country because that could mean peace for them, after all you can’t force a country to be allies with you. He didn’t want to be hated and he didn’t want to be loved. This is where more contradictions took place making it seem almost impossible to follow his

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