Posted: April 14th, 2015

The Author formerly known as Niccolo: Machiavelli’s The Prince

The Author formerly known as Niccolo: Machiavelli’s The Prince

Order Description
Discussion: Machiavelli’s The Prince: How might Machiavelli’s ideas be applied to contemporary issues? Do we think that Machiavelli’s notions of leadership are as brutal as the term “Machiavellian” seems to indicate?
Reading:
http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince15.htm
http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince16.htm
http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince17.htm
http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince18.htm
http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince19.htm
http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince20.htm
http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince21.htm
http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince22.htm
http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince23.htm
http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince24.htm

Sample:
There are few ways that Machiavelli’s ideas can be applied to contemporary issues:

1. Most people do not like to be taxed. That is no different than in Machiavelli’s time and today. Our President is very unpopular if he excessively taxes the people. There is a lot of excessive spending in Washington for ridiculous reasons and the people have been the ones to pay for this over and over again.
2. A Prince should avoid the hatred of his people, as should our President if he wants re-elected. If our President asks the people to continually sacrifice their own well being, the people will hate him and either campaign for his or her removal or will make sure he or she is not re-elected. Although in this case, I do not believe the threat of punishment is the answer as Machiavelli suggests. The people want to see compromise and more importantly the safety of the people to come first.
3. A Prince is urged to be crafty and cunning with an ability to trick others. This is needed for any President to govern, especially when dealing with the enemy but tricking the people will not be tolerated. Once the people realize they’ve been tricked or manipulated, there is turning against the President.
4. A Prince and a President must avoid being hated. If you are hated as a President by the people, they will let their representatives in congress know and the President will get little done during his administration. A Prince should worry about two things—an insurrection and external threats, as should a President. This requires a strong army. Unfortunately, beginning with the Clinton Administration, our military has been weakened through base closures, cutting costs in equipment and training. This will come to hurt America in the long run.
5. Disarming subjects is huge issue today. This administration does not respect aspects of our constitution and one issue they keep pushing is unraveling gun ownership in the U.S. This is something that the forefathers even found important because disarmament of the people breeds distrust just as is mentioned in The Prince.
6. A prince should encourage his people to do well, work, and live in peace. This is definitely needed today. When the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, were taking place where business owner’s buildings were being burned to the ground and they were losing their livelihood, where was our President? There was no National Guard brought in to restore peace or provide help to those being persecuted by the mobs. Where was he? I can guarantee this is something that will not be forgotten in the next election.