Frank Lautenberg's career may be described as "mostly Machiavellian" because of the way in which he used negative campaign ads early on in order to secure his hold on power, before shifting towards more outwardly benevolent means of maintaining that power. Taking Machiavelli's advice to commit all the cruelties one needs all at once, instead of piecemeal over a longer period, Lautenberg ran a vicious campaign against Pete Dawkins that relied almost exclusively on the former's ability to paint Dawkins as an opportunist and a charlatan, effectively using Dawkins' own robust resume against him. Having solidified his hold on power by winning his first reelection, Lautenberg proceeded to curry the favor of the two groups whose favor Machiavelli sees as necessary for ruling any participatory form of government, namely, the general populace and the corporate elite whose money ends up...
In this way, Lautenberg protected himself from any resentment born out of his earlier negative campaign tactics, and successfully rebranded himself as a reliable stalwart of participatory democracy." Parallels with business takeovers are frighteningly stark. Change. In the Prince he says "It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things" (Machiavelli). Relevancy...and Not The impact of Machiavelli's writing on politics has been accepted for some time, but the relevance of his ideas to business had to wait until
However, to interpret Machiavelli from this angle only would be to view his thoughts myopically. (Viroli, 1998) This is because the other piece of work that Machiavelli wrote at about the same time, the "Discourses on Livy" showed Machiavelli to be essentially a republican who perceived the state to be an autonomous and secular entity which depended upon mass support and human skills for its survival. According to a
Hence he advises that a prince should never rest from military thought. Especially in times of peace, a prince must engage in honing his skills and in studying military strategies. Relationship of the New Prince with the People Machiavelli realizes the importance of the new prince's relationship with the people and he has repeatedly emphasized its necessity in the Prince. Gaining Support of the People: When a new prince acquires a new
This is again an idealistic notion of human nature, going back to imagining humans as permanently ridding themselves of their bad traits. In regard to this Machiavelli acknowledges that being liberal, which is how he describes a ruler freely spending his country's resources, is a good quality to have. However he believes that this quality, if unregulated, could lead to a prince's ruin. If according to Machiavelli a prince were
" (the Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, edited by Gaillard Hunt and J.B. Scott New York, 1920, p. 329 as cited in Riemer 46) According to some historians, Madison's contribution to the consolidation of republicanism has been underrated: "Republican ideology - not economic interest, not social class, not sectional outlook - is the key to his political thought and actions. Theoretically and practically, he was always hostile to
MACHIAVELLI's THE PRINCE Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince is one of the most controversial yet enduring political manifestos regarding the differing types of military affairs, principalities, and qualities of a great leader. The Prince has been referenced by academics, directors of corporations, and politicians for centuries, as it provides general, historically proven advice for principalities and republics on how to govern and maintain relations with their most important resource and the essential
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