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.
Niccolò Machiavelli, better known as the father of modern political theory, wrote the famous socio-political treatise The Prince, during a dark time in his career. In The Prince, there are several policies that can be found in the American government, specifically in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. Many of our American leaders have adopted similar policies as Machiavelli's book is recognized as a political manual for many leaders. Obviously, there are many common themes in The Prince and The United States government's policies, such as the idea of arming one's citizens along with how leaders are brought to power; however, there are also many differences, in particular, the distribution of power in government.
President Obama echo a leadership of both Niccolo Machiavelli "The Qualities of the Prince" and Martin Luther King Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail". Machiavelli point of view to become a successful prince was that you must lead your people. He talks about how a prince should appear to his people for authority. There are different types of principles such as war and is it better to be loved or feared.
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
Niccolo Machiavelli and his influence on the Enlightenment Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, also known as the father of “Modern Political Theory” was a well-known Italian diplomat, politician, humanist, historian, philosopher and writer from the era of renaissance philosophy. He belonged to several schools of thought, namely: Renaissance humanism, Political realism, Classical republicanism. His claim to fame was his popular book, “The Prince”, which was a handbook for politicians on the use of ruthless, self-serving, cunning inspiring the term “Machiavellian.” Before he wrote his book, Machiavelli was a diplomat for 14 years in Italy’s Florence Republic during the Medici family’s exile.
During the Renaissance, all that had came from the middle ages had started to change, they wanted new things. This opened up change for art, stance on religion and many more changes that the Renaissance needed. Except some things just can’t be replaced, which is a strong leadership so he can lead his people or country to victory no matter the task. Lorenzo de Medici, however, was not that man. He relied on kindness and intelligence to lead his people, which was not always the right choice.
In 1513, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote “The Prince,” telling rulers how they should rule. (Document 1) Many of the ideas in his book are shown in the ways these rulers governed their people. King Louis XIV believed if there were multiple people had power more would take advantage of it (Document 3) which is a major idea from “The Prince,” stating “for love is held by a bond of obligation, which, as men are wicked, is broken whenever personal advantage suggests it.” (Document 1).
Widely vilified and secretly admired, Niccolo Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469 and died on June 21, 1527 in Florence, Italy. He was an Italian statesman and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. While he authored many books he is probably best known for The Prince, and is perhaps thought of as the “father of modern political theory.” In his book The Prince he attempted to teach the rulers of his time how to obtain power and hold on to it. Machiavelli illustrated many key points in what it took to be a "successful" Prince.
The famous manual “The Prince” by Machiavelli is still to this day the main resource that explains and gives advice on how to be a good politician. In 26 chapters it holds powerful rules that Machiavelli believed were key points that one must follow to become a successful politician. Machiavelli was a politician, historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer and lived in Florence during the Renaissance and changed the world with his political philosophies. Like Machiavelli, Adolf Hitler was also a powerful politician and the chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945. He was also the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945.
The Prince, written by Machiavelli, is a candid outline of how he believes leaders gain and keep power. Machiavelli uses examples of past leaders to determine traits that are necessary to rule successfully. Leaders such as the King of Naples and the Duke of Milan lacked military power, made their subjects hate them, or did not know how to protect themselves from the elite, causing them to lose power. He says that these rulers should blame laziness, not luck, for their failures. By looking at these historical successes and failures, Machiavelli is able to develop his own thoughts on how politics and leaders should be in the future.
First, prior to understanding the role of human nature, it is necessary to contrast Machiavelli’s two humours against Aristotle’s few and many/poor. At the heart of this tension is the notion of justice – Aristotle’s deference to justice leads to his treatment of the few/many as political, whereas Machiavelli’s neglect of Aristotelean justice leads to his treatment of the two humours as apolitical. We begin with the former. Aristotle yields six possible regimes a polis can be, both consisting of two groups – the many/poor and the few/rich: Kingship/Tyranny, Aristocracy/Oligarchy, and Constitutional Government/Democracy. The former in each pair is considered to be a right regime and the latter a perversion of it.
In the field of political theory, history, and literature, there have been many ideas passed. When we consider the Middle Ages, The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli and Utopia by Sir. Thomas More appears to be the most influential works on how leaders should govern. By analyzing the messages passed by both Machiavelli and More, we will determine their requirements for establishing a successful system of government, and assisting those in authority to become better leaders. Nicolo Machiavelli is seen as a major political thinker, who had unique ideas concerning governance and leadership.
Plato and Machiavelli both influenced the modern concepts of political theory by outlining their conceptions of human nature, and prescribing how one should go about dealing with others within their communities, and how they should deal with themselves. Machiavelli helped to shape the modern outlook because he talks and makes decisions/suggestions based on real life and how things are. This differentiated him from other philosophers, like Plato, because he spoke and made references to things based on ideal/theoretical situations instead of how things were in his society. Machiavelli has accepted the flaws that come with human society because he sees that some people cannot change, and that some are to deep in their own demise/destruction, and
This is a work that still influences us today and is still relevant in today’s complex society. Some of the most prominent leaders of the 20th century have been influenced by Machiavellian ideas. U.S Presidents like Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton and U.K Prime Minister Anthony Blair are called Machiavellian leaders today. According to Machiavelli a prince must focus all his serious time and energy to war and how to wage it (Machiavelli, 31).
In his novel, the prince, nicolo machiavelli guides us to be a fruitful ruler. He clarifies the best routes for any ruler or sovereign to govern a region, bring prosper to the society, and keep up their position. This book can be read by anyone to get a few pointers on political issues. Most of the thoughts held by machivelli were linked to mercilessness and evil, hence they raised a considerable number of eyebrows. He maintains that the ruler 's primary goal should be conquering, staying in control of the general public and to always have the idea of war in mind.
