Machiavellia And Lau Tzu Analysis

George Washington states,” Morality is the essential pillar of a civil society” www.free2pray.info/founderquotes.html. America is a nation that was founded on the principles of morals and ethics. This country had undergone many hardships of what is to be considered morally correct or wrong. Our nation has faced the harsh realities of war, economic downfalls, and trusting those who lead the people. There were many tough choices that could only be solved by a strong independent leader and their ideas. If America wishes to continue growing into an ethical and moral society, we must look into the writings of two philosopher’s ideas of what makes a good leader. These philosophers are Machiavellia and Lau Tzu. Each man had their own interpretations of what was the correct way of leading people. There are three issues that are affecting our nation’s sense of morals and ethics. Should a leader be loved or feared, is it …show more content…
Should a leader always be truthful to his people? Machiavelli states, “a wise ruler, cannot and should not keep his word when such an observance of faith would be at a disadvantage” (230). He believes that if a leader were to lie, there would be no consequences since all truth only gives the person in power a disadvantage. It may sound like an unethical idea because this goes against everything a virtuous person does, but there is some truth of what Machiavelli is saying. Leaders deceive their subjects because all men break their promises according to Machiavelli. If America were to have such a leader, the people would no longer be disappointed with the leaders that run the country. Therefore, promises that were made by the ruler could not be broken. All of the leader’s actions would be solely based on what events are happing now. If there were to be a mistake, the person in charge would not receive any negative backlash, because he does not make promises to his