Niccolò Machiavelli

Power is not evil, it is the user that makes it evil. Machiavelli, a controversial figure in political history left a legacy of brutal reality which disturbed many people. Niccolo Machiavelli’s, The Prince explores the groundbreaking ideas for a prince to secure the leading position in government and retain his power and leadership. Human nature combined with power has the possibility of becoming tragically destructive. However, that wreckage stems from the environment, and the actions…

advice from Machiavelli play out in real life with the leader you chose as an example. Is their leadership good for their people? Neighboring countries? The world? Every person has their own individual skills that make us different from each other. This applies even to higher positions people, in this case to a prince. In order for a prince to be a good leader he should possess some individual skills that will help him face the problems he will have throughout his leadership. Machiavelli…

Introduction: “It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both” (Machiavelli 1532 p. 58). Many have no doubt heard this quote in some form over the years but few probably have examined what the quote really means. Niccola Machiavelli, the Italian author of said quote put it something like this: fear and love are two key components in leadership. If your constituents love you or fear you they will follow you. However, he said it is better to be feared than loved because it is…

What role would an oppressive ruler take in a society where loyalty is fundamental? An analysis of Creon, a king with an iron-fisted rule in Sophocles’ Antigone, reveals how he not only helps develop the plot but also affects other characters through his dialogue and decisions. By using Creon, Sophocles writes about pride as a catalyst for downfall, conflict in the midst of oppression, and the aspects of human law. In Antigone, Creon’s main functions are portrayed through his contributions to…

This is a saying used by Big Brother to instill fear and remind the people that there is no hiding. There is no way for those who are aware of what is happening to spread their ideas or even act on them without being taken in by the Ministry of Love (the ministry that deals with law and order) and most likely killed. This is one of the most memorable quotes from the book. This is an example of what is called Doublethink. This essentially confuses the mind and ensures that the population is not…

As the Rational Choice Theory was developed in the eighteenth century as an Italian man by the name of Cesare Beccaria created rational classical criminology. As a philosopher, he assessed the social thoughts of people and came to the conclusion that they were ultimately “egotistical and self centered” and that the main determining factor to avoid crime results from a fear of punishment (Siegal, 103.) The Rational Choice Theory is based on the assumption that decisions with criminal intent are…

In Mo Tzu’s Against Music, the audience learns that music is detrimental to society. He first starts out by claiming the responsibility of a benevolent man, or women is to eliminate what is ruinous to society. Besides this, a benevolent man’s obligation is not to just take his only interest and add it, but also decide based on the common good. For instance, plenty of people of a higher class, rulers, and ministers may enjoy music, and all it entails, very much; but, it offers few to none…

Do we really aim to DESTROY the person we love, or is it just that we love them so much we destruct our life to keep them? Why is it important for us to love things that we find precarious? Most importantly, why do we look to things that murder our conscious and damage our heart? Using a short story, William Faulkner discusses that isolation and loneliness can lead to destruction. The word “desolation” can be defined as a state of complete emptiness or destruction. Typically, the warfare of…

▪ Summary of the main ideas Machiavelli started his book by glorifying the Prince Lorenzo De Medici that he is writing for, he wanted to present him the most valuable thing he owned; his accumulated knowledge and experiences from his long years working in their contemporary affairs and his continual studying to history before his exile. The book is concerned of how to establish a despotic regime? how to consolidate and maintain this regime after establishment? ▪ In the First part, the Author…

In Machiavelli’s The Prince, Machiavelli is viewed as a callous and resourceful leader who emphasizes the pursuit of power and longevity, even if it advocates the use of violence preceding one’s own morals. This power-violence-morality trifecta illustrates the importance of balance in a leader’s pallet of desired qualities, while ultimately highlighting the impact a successful leader can have on a secular society. However, Machiavelli’s viewpoint of leadership expands beyond power, violence, and…