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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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The main point made by Machiavelli was that men are inherently bad, so a leader must rule in a way that takes this into account. He taught that because of man’s ungratefulness, it is safer to be feared than loved (D-4). This shows that Machiavelli believed that the power and success of a country will lead to the prosperity of its inhabitants. Both influential people believed that a country prospers the most under absolute power.

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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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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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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

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REAL-POLITIK: THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS “Let a prince therefore aim at conquering and maintaining the state, and the means will always be judged honourable and praised by everyone.” “For where the very safety of the country depends upon the resolution to be taken, no consideration of justice or injustice, humanity or cruelty, of glory or of shame, should be allowed to prevail. But putting all other considerations aside, the only question should be; what course will save the life and liberty of the country?” Machiavelli emphasized that being a good politician doesn’t always necessarily equate to being a good person. However, Machiavelli never praised immorality.

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Machiavelli’s conclusion relies upon premises established by the assumptions of human nature. He believes that there are just three types of brains: the most superior, which can reason and understand for itself; another, which notices what others can reason and understand; and the useless, which can neither reason nor understand either. He seems to believe that most people fall to the third type, and are simpleminded. That people in themselves are either selfish in their ambition or just want the status quo. Therefore, he focuses on the prince and what the individual can accomplish.

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When he spoke about those who came to power through wicked actions and gave the example of Agathocles, Machiavelli says that although Agathocles committed cruel actions in order to rule, he still demonstrated bravery and strength of character (29). Machiavelli says that “If you take control of a state, you should make a list of all the crimes you have to commit and do them all at once” (30). That way, you will not have to keep repeating your evil deeds, which will “reassure your subjects and win their support by treating them well” (31). Contrary to Plato, who believes that morality is a part of politics, Machiavelli believes that morality and politics are two separate things, and says that a ruler has to know when their duty is more important than their moral

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Since fascism is about having full control of the subjects residing in that form of government, Machiavelli says that you should keep your subjects in such a state where they are unable to harm you and to keep them in a state that it looks like you are doing them a favour. Despite my opposition to the fascist philosophies of Machiavelli, his way of guiding leaders is credible and very smart. Making your citizens believe that you in power are doing them a favour is so cunning and manipulative and would make the citizens of that place reliant on your power and demands. Machiavelli believed that even though Princes should be strict, they should occasionally make a show and perform acts of clemency. In other words, let the people off the hook for a crime committed.

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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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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).

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He also covers how to treat subjects, and prevent distractions that could work against a military in war. Machiavelli also made sure to remind the ruler that he must avoid the hatred of his people, even if he is not necessarily loved. He believes that a ruler should appear virtuous, full of compassion and generosity, but not act like it because that could be

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In the book, Machiavelli believes in the idea of having a strong dominant leader, in order to preserve the benefits to the citizens as a group instead of individually. This strategy clearly shows in chapter seventeen where Machiavelli points out that every prince would prefer to be loved than to be feared. However, the two rarely co-existed. If one had to choose, it is not only better to be feared than to be loved but it is also much “safer” looking at it realistically. By safer, it means that you will not have to worry and watch out as much since people will be less likely to conspire against someone they fear than someone they love.

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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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Machiavelli believed that men will follow a ruler as long as the ruler serves their interests, and a quick to turn against the ruler unless they fear great punishment. Machiavelli would say that it is best to be feared rather than loved as long as the fear does not cause hate, which he believed to be perfectly possible.

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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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