Cesare Beccaria

A man never lived who contributed more to the evolution of the political landscape than Niccolo Machiavelli. Born in a turbulent place in an unstable and perilous period of history, Machiavelli learned the realities of a state. Machiavelli’s greatest work, The Prince, established Political Realism, the acknowledgment that an ideal society is unobtainable, and operating on this knowledge, the focus of those in power should be better spent on political stability, even if immoral action was…

Kesey uses the introduction of McMurphy and the depiction of the ward along with the change after McMurphy’s introduction to illustrate the emasculating effect of control. The introduction of McMurphy is used as a catalyst to break the complete control and order of the ward. When McMurphy arrives on the extremely orderly and controlled ward, he makes a mockery of the system itself, claiming that he is “accustomed to being top man,” and he figures that “If [he’s] bound to be a loony” then he is…

“There is a sufficiency in the world for a man’s need, but not a man’s greed.” - Mahatma Gandhi. In the world, one’s greed will never be satisfied and leads to extreme selfishness. Not only is this true in the world, but it is also true when speaking about a dystopian story with a corrupt government. In the book, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury writes about how Mildred, the government and society and Montag are all examples of selfishness. Ray Bradbury first describes how Mildred is selfish in the…

Thomas More's Utopia and Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince are two extremely distinctive and contrasting products created during the Renaissance. Both the works produced by More and Machiavelli concern themselves with the fundamental issues of how society maintains itself and continues to work regardless of what occurs. The two contrasting scholars may both focus on society but yet both authors created works with exceedingly distinctive purposes behind the products. More's Utopia can be seen as a…

A prince should do well if he can, but be ready to do evil if he must. Yet a prince must be careful to always act in a way that appears virtuous, for many can see you, but few know how you really are. If a ruler conquers and maintains his state, everyone will praise him, judging his actions by their outcome. The prince should avoid being despised and hated; taking the property or the women of his subjects will make him hated. Being frivolous, indecisive, and effeminate will make him despised.…

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an Italian logician and writer who both shocked and intrigued the mind of Renaissance Europe. In his most renowned work, Il Principe (The Prince)(1532), he set out his thoughts on how the ruler of a nation could set out to achieve power and how he may keep that power once he had secured it. In spite of the fact that Shakespeare's most notorious Cunning character is Richard III, the model of the political rogue out to secure his own particular position can be…

The Bhagavad Gita presents a story from the Hindu faith in the form of pros. A conversation between an entity and a prince emerges with the prince does not feel comfortable with the repercussions from fighting. The entity, Krishna, presents himself to the prince, Arjuna, in a somatic form, a long-time friend of Arjuna. A war between the Kauravas and Pandavas breaks out, and Arjuna does not want to fight his instructors, family, and friends. He looks to Krishna for guidance, and his advice is,…

When is the rule by cruelty necessary, according to Machiavelli? According to Machiavelli, he claims that the prince needs to rule by cruelty, especially in terms of crime and justice. If the prince is generous at all times, including the period of disorder, people will lose trust. With courage and cruelty, the prince should abandon his personal qualities, rule by cruelty, and eliminate all possible crimes and misdeeds for the safety of the country. How can being cruel to a few lead to being…

The first piece of evidence to suggest Machiavelli is the prince is seen in the Dedicatory Letter. Machiavelli states, “... no greater gift could be made by me than to give you the capacity to be able to understand...all that I have learned and understood in so many years...” (Prince, dedication). This statement suggests that Machiavelli is persuading Lorenzo de Medici that his involvement in politics and his knowledge of the ancients make him an invaluable adviser. Thus proving that intellect…

Machiavelli was a well-connected diplomat in Florence during the Florentine Renaissance. When the Medici family returned to power, Machiavelli was terminated from his position, leaving him to reside outside of the city. During this time, he wrote The Prince –essentially a book written to win the favour of Lorenzo Medici, the governor of Florence, and to “advance himself as a candidate for a political role in the Medician government” (Morgan, 505). Machiavelli states that a morally virtuous ruler…