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Who Is Machiavelli's The Prince Still Relevant Today?

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In 1513, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote his key piece of work, ‘The Prince’, as a study of human nature and the political sphere, and put forward a set of characteristics that the next ruler of his home Italian city-state of Florence should abide by. Machiavelli painted a very pessimistic picture of the nature of man, which is a common feature in realist theories today. I will discuss this focus on human nature in both Machiavelli’s work, as well as how it is relevant in contemporary realist theories today, with the example of the work by Hans Morgenthau. I will then offer a feminist critique on this depiction of human nature, arguing that these realist theories allow men, and masculinity, to dominate, at the expense of acknowledging women in politics. …show more content…

Realists, especially the classical realists, argue that their theory is based on objective knowledge and a realistic view of human nature, and that all politics is subject to this manifestation of the corruptible and egotistical human nature (Lebow 2013: 61). This pessimistic outlook of human nature was first introduced by Machiavelli in the 16th century, and is still relevant today as one of the hallmark principles of realist theories. Machiavelli, in writing ‘The Prince’, changed direction from the ‘idealism’ of his political science predecessors, and rejected the traditional morality of their politics (Mindle 1985: 213; Patrick 2014: 1). He sought to observe political life and human nature as they really were, without any delusions or idealism, and thus began the realist school of political science thought (Mindle 1985: 212). Machiavelli’s …show more content…

). Gender is a socially and historical constructed concept, and has asymmetrical power in international relations, often excluding women from political life (Tickner and Sjoberg 2013: 206; True 2001: 236-237). Realists argue that they have put forward an objective and universal knowledge, however feminists argue that their ‘knowledge’ is socially constructed and favours the masculine ideals, and either denying or misrepresenting the women in politics (Tickner 1988: 432; Alexandre 1989: 6 cited in True 2001: 240). As argued by Cynthia Enloe, women have always been a part of international relations but have largely been ignored (True 2001: 239). Realist theorists have made assumptions about masculinity and its relativity to describe human nature, such as characteristics such as rational, self-nterest focuses and autonomous (True 2001: 250). These assumptions are critiqued by feminists as being at best a partial representation of the truth, and argued as continuing the power and knowledge of a male dominated international relations system (Tickner 1988: 429,

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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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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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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 “ The Morals of the Prince”, Machiavelli argues the prince should be feared if they want to get their position or control

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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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Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher, politician, and is known for being the writer of the Renaissance period. Today, Machiavelli’s legacy still lives on being that his political philosophies were very harsh and firm. Machiavelli composed many books, however, one of his most notable pieces of work is The Prince, a book that sets basic guidelines for how to rule. Throughout The Prince, Machiavelli intelligently sets guidelines for the systems that a ruler must take after to keep up his position and represent his state.

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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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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.

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Machiavelli’s thinking troubled a tremendous amount of people and his challenge to the status quo was interpreted as evil. It was interpreted as evil because it was different from the status

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Niccolò Machiavelli wrote a book which called The Prince. It is about the political ideology of Machiavelli's political realism, which means the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. In this book, he talks about the importance of the concept of virtú. He claimed that rulers have to suppress their personal virtues while sometimes committing improper acts in order to maintain powers and protect their principalities. In Discourses, Machiavelli becomes to extols the virtues of a republic.

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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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Sheldon Wolin argues that this is an “economizing frame of mind” (202) that Machiavelli had in his comments on violence. However, Hulliung maintains that it is “in reality an aspect of the heroic code and its call for glorious action” (202). This calls back to the previous two interpretations of Machiavelli whose claims have been refuted with simply Machiavelli’s few for collective glory and virtu. The “economy of violence” was in actuality practiced by the “commercially-minded ruling class of Florence” (202). While Machiavelli believed that being deliberate and careful with the way violence was carried out was important, he also believed “unlimited conquest, growth, and aggrandizement [was] the objective” (202).

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Among the famous philosophers and political theorists, both Niccolò Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes find recognition as the brightest representatives of their eras. It might be said that Machiavelli started a new phase in the development of political science shifting from the ancient idealistic approach to politics to the realistic approach of the modernity. In his work The Prince, the author develops an argument concerning the immorality of the politics and the political power while focusing on the image of a successful ruler. In contrast to this, Hobbes is concerned about the need for establishing of the social order and, in his Leviathan, he explains this idea through the theory of social contract between the people and the government. While

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In the first part I addressed the examples of Machiavelli and Schmitt whose "extreme" and "negative" view of human nature has led them to develop the political conceptions praising the strong state and focusing on the idea of conflict. Nonetheless, I maintained that their approaches point to the lack of ethics which I considered an apparent disadvantage. The second chapter was dedicated to another, in my opinion, "extreme" case, namely, theories of Kant and Rawls. Both of them adopt more "positive" conception of a human as a reasonable and rational being. I have tried to show that, although they convincingly bring together politics and ethics, their theories

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Niccoolo Machiavelli is an Italian writer born in 1469 and one of the most influencing writers in the history of politics. Machiavelli finished writing his famous book “The Prince” in 1514, however, the book was published in 1532 after his death. Machiavelli wrote the prince as a guide for rulers to maintain and escalate their power, therefore, he was realistic and down to earth and instead of using ideal republics he spoke the truth of the human nature and how to survive the obstacles in order to become a great “prince”. Some people claim that Machiavelli is the devil and his book is evil full of fear and hatred, however, I firmly believe that Machiavelli’s theories are wisely balanced as he did not turn a blind eye on the importance of being

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