Niccolò Machiavelli

Politics Over the course of the last five centuries, Niccolo Machiavelli has been considered by many scholars as one of the most controversial historical figures of the Renaissance period. As a keen observer of the Italian oligarchy, he saw that the “Italian city-states were ruled by men whose authority rested solely on their cunning and effective use of force, which was witnessed as a new phenomenon” (Perry, 186). Additionally, Machiavelli believed in the unification of the Italian city-states…

Machiavelli, in The Prince, claims that “it is much safer to be feared than loved, if one has to lack one of the two.” Trump chose fear, but he disregarded being loved as a component. The fear was accompanied with hate, leading to an unsuccessful attempt of Machiavelli’s thought within his current presidency. Machiavelli believed that “since men love at their convenience and fear at the convenience of the prince, a wise prince should found himself on what is his.” The people will not rise up…

Machiavelli – asses machiavelli’s claim that it is better for a prince to be feared than loved. Is such a dictum useful in democratic politics? The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli, offers many different ideas about how to gain and maintain political Power. One of the main stigmas within the entire text is that, as a leader, it Is better to be feared then loved. As with majority of Machiavelli’s dictums this particular point is still incredibly relevant and useful in democratic politics.…

McCormick states that Machiavelli “was fully aware of the tension between leaderly initiative and popular rule…” McCormick points out the conflict in Machiavelli’s argument by stating “How can a single individual follow Machiavelli's advice about favoring the people over the few without becoming a tyrant in the process?” he goes on to argue that if a leader can achieve this then the next obstacle is how this same leader can avoid catering to the elite or the grandi as Machiavelli referred to…

The Prince 1.) Machiavelli wrote The Prince because he wanted to win the favor of Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici by dedicating him the book. He also just wanted to give general advice on leadership and power, as well as draw attention to his belief that a prince should be more successful over being good and honest. 2.) The major themes of The Prince are Love vs Fear; a prince should be loved to stay in power, but his people should also have a sense of fear from him so they obey him. Power;…

Niccolo Machiavelli and Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu also contain governmental characteristics. However, while The Prince discusses political issues, the author of Tao Te…

Machiavelli stated that he would choose fear when given the option of fear or love, and I have to agree with him. Fear is a strong emotion that when employed correctly against others can be a powerful tool to gain the power over a great number of people. Love can be lost readily; especially if not carefully monitored, nourished fittingly and/or taken by another. Fear can freely be applied and needs less monitoring and nourishing by the fear-instilling ruler of choice. Fear can be doled out by…

Niccolo Machiavelli, Also Known as Thomas Hobbes There have been many leaders throughout time that have shaped history in many ways. These leaders influence and rule over their land and people brings many to wonder if there was an absolute way to rule. The leader's role was such a necessity that if the leader was poor then the nation would fall. This brought many scholars, philosophers, and even kings to form ideas as to what the right way to rule is. This brought about Niccolo Machiavelli who…

According to Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America, a democratic society has various characteristics such as individualism and a single-minded pursuit of material wealth. These two characteristics can cause certain dangers to a democratic society such as a despotic and absolute government and also unhappiness. Alexis de Tocqueville in his book Democracy in America presents a behavior that occurs in democratic America. This behavior is called individualism, which is a “reflective and…

Machiavelli wrote ‘The Prince’ to tell others how he sees a good prince. He says a prince “in order to hold his position, must acquire the power to be not good, and understand when to use it and when not to use it, in accord with necessity” (The Prince ch15). He didn’t believe that humans are perfect because “But because no ruler can possess or fully practice them, on account of human conditions that do not permit it, he needs to be so prudent that he escapes ill repute for such vices as might…