Machiavelli The Art Of Statecraft Analysis

The Prince 's Usefulness to “Our” Modern Political Leaders Machiavelli 's (1469-1527) work The Prince could easily be subtitled “The Art of Statecraft: How to Govern [Well?].” Machiavelli, sometimes referred to as “the first realist in politics,” wrote The Prince (1513) in an attempt to ingratiate himself to the ruling Medici family. The Medici family had dismissed him, suspected him of conspiracy, and banished him from the city of Florence only the year prior (1512). It is my contention that although, Machiavelli’s ideas do seem to be thrown – as accusations – in the politics of modernity, the charges are over-exaggerated. Further, most of the claims of Machiavellianism, when investigated, are alterations of the main proposition promoted in The Prince. Moreover, if it were the case that a strain of Machiavellianism did run through our current political leaders then there would be no admittance on their part of that fact. The preliminary opening of this contention is to understand the intent behind Machiavelli writing The Prince. For this understanding, one would have to look no further than the opening line where it states, “Niccolo Machiavelli to Lorenzo the Magnificent, Son of Piero Di Medici.” This is …show more content…
The only suggestion is that to make a claim that Machiavelli’s recommendations are useful to our current political leaders in the U.S. is to be guilty of the fallacy of ignoratio elenchi. There are some important historical factors within the account of Machiavelli; but to suggest they have any value for a modern liberal democracy is ludicrous. Perhaps there is one important point in The Prince that can be culled from reading it. I will conclude on this passage, to see if The Prince really has any place in recommendation as a discourse about how modern politics should function in the