Prince
Published in the early sixteenth century, Nicolo Machiavelli's The Prince is a classic Early Renaissance-era work of political philosophy. Its tenets are still put into practice today by the world's top leaders, including the President of the United States. In The Prince, Machiavelli outlines the basic guidelines for effective leadership. In Chapters 15 through 18, Machiavelli especially focuses on specific leadership qualities and behaviors. Chapter Seventeen is especially notable for its advice against being too compassionate: it is better for a leader to be feared than to be loved, according to Machiavellian ideals. What makes The Prince a quintessential early Renaissance text is its focus on the pragmatic qualities of human leaders, rather than on the divine or moral qualities they should ideally exhibit. This was a radical shift in political philosophy, which was largely based on Church law before that.
Chapter Seventeen of The Prince is entitled "Cruelty and Mercy: Is it Better to Be Loved than Feared, or the Reverse?" Machiavelli concludes that it is definitely better to be feared than loved, for the prince who demonstrates too much mercy or compassion is destined only to be weak or at least perceived as weak by his subjects. "The new prince ... cannot escape being cruel, since new governments abound in dangers." This is not to say that Machiavelli advocates corruption or unwarranted violence. Rather, cruelty implies judiciously executed decisive action. In rare cases it is possible for the prince to be both loved and feared, but in situations that demand that a choice be made, the prince should never be afraid to act according to the best interests of the state. In general, it is always "safer" to be feared than to be loved." Cruelty and firmness command respect; without respect a leader would not only be useless, but easily usurped and the state could quickly fall into chaos. The advice Machiavelli offers in Chapter Seventeen closely follows that of the two previous chapters, which advise against too much liberalism and too much care for moral rectitude. Machiavelli follows Chapter Seventeen with a separate chapter advising princes to master the art of deceit and lying in order to serve the needs of the state. Based on these excerpts from the text, it is easy to see how modern politics evolved from the application of Machiavellian principles.
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
" 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
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
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
Hitler was an aggressive, dominant leader who was revered by many Germans. He overtook Poland and other nations such as Norway with virtually no defense at all because they were unprepared and their leaders did not anticipate or approve of aggression and defense. They were wrong, and it cost them dearly. If these nations had put up a real fight, the war might have had a different outcome. The
It basically approves of just about any behavior as long as the company survives, and that is music to many people's ears. Machiavelli's advice has little to do with "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." He writes as a man of science and logic, rather than a man of ethics and morality. Machiavelli felt a prince or leader stood above others, and so, was above
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