The Art of War

Principalities As a result of a judgmental society, individuals are eager to seek praise and validation. Everyone wishes to be liked as well as admired, but sometimes individuals have to make decisions against their moral and ethical judgement. It is through The Prince that Niccolo Machiavelli expresses his political theories and ideology, asserting that in order to be a successful Prince one must be willing to disregard their morals and ultimately use deception to both gain and keep control.…

European ethnocentrism or superiority, leading to a general distrust of foreigners. His next focus in on the need for able rulers to know about military affairs, mentioning how men are by nature evil and should not be trusted, and that war is inevitable. His outlook on war was likely influenced by the competitive nature of the Italian city states, where he lived, and the general antagonisms in Europe. He states that a ruler who is…

Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian Renaissance historian, in the novel “The Prince and Other Writings” states that a prince Must have a balance of how he acts towards his people in order to be a successful leader. First, Machiavelli establishes, that a prince can be generous but must be careful, for too much generosity may lead to disorder. Then the author elucidates that a prince must be feared and loved, but to be feared has a greater benefit because humans will break the bond of love when…

Machiavelli: Republic and Principality Best Fit for the People Niccolo Machiavelli is one of the most influential political thinkers of all time. In his two works, The Prince and The Discourses, he presents ways to successfully form and run both a Republic and a Principality by tying them with the fate to the people. In The Prince, Machiavelli discusses how a ruler can gain power regardless of his morals. While in The Discourses, he talks about how the public should be implemented into a…

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…

According to Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, The first duty of a prince is to maintain power and acquire more. If the princes of Machiavelli’s time followed his advice and searched only for power, what does this mean for the people? The first priority of a prince or ruler should be to improve the kingdom and protect the citizens. Machiavelli stated that one’s duty, as a prince is to be as powerful as can be, however, as a ruler the first priority should be the people, and as a prince, to be…

While reading chapter 17, I began to realize where Machiavelli is coming from from when he states it’s better to be feared than loved. He believes a prince should be cruel to gain respect from his subjects. He states “…it is desirable to be both [loved and feared], but becasie it is difficult to join them together, it is much safer for a prince to be feared than loved, if he is to fail at once of the two.” If a prince is generous and loved by his people, they will leave him as soon as trouble…

Rhetorical Analysis Is it better to be feared or loved? This is an aged old question that has never truly been resolved in over fifteen hundred years. According to Niccolo Machiavelli, he believed that “every prince should be merciful instead of cruel”--nevertheless, his underlying belief was that he felt that, over-all, it is better to feared than loved. He based this premise on the notion that a person who was feared, was respected and not taken advantage of. The main thing is that it is…

1. Why should a Prince understand how to “use well both the man and the beast”? A Prince should understand how to use both the man and beast ways of interaction well in order to know which approach will be most effectual to obtain the desired outcome. Knowing how to keep the faith and live uprightly will win popularity votes while living craftily can get the job done. Knowing when to go from abiding by the law to applying force is the important balancing act that Machiavelli states that a…

Machiavelli’s The Prince could be used as a manual for navigating tough decisions that leaders face every day, or viewed as a defense of negligent and callous autocratic leadership. While Machiavelli encouraged a more coldhearted approach to leadership, Socrates pushed for an improvement in the morality of daily life including leadership. The prince is a very determined powerful leader, who by almost any means, desires to protect and preserve his nation as well as his position as the prince. He…