Machiavelli and Aristotle
Since pre-school we've been taught to do onto others as you would like them to do to you. Clearly Niccolo Machiavelli missed that lesson! He does however realize how important it is to be a good leader; however he does feel that it's necessary to sometimes risk the love of the people in order to achieve greater success. According to Aristotle power and happiness lies in virtue whereas Machiavelli believes that power and happiness lies in not necessarily being virtuous but at least appearing to be. Ultimately, power has nothing to do with happiness for Aristotle; unfortunately power has everything to do with happiness for Machiavelli, where in lies the dramatic difference between the two men. Machiavelli wrote a guide about how to attain political power by whatever means necessary, so you can obviously conclude that the man doesn't have many morals. He's all about getting to the top no matter what it takes. It's not so much that Machiavelli disagrees with Aristotle's views but that in some sense considers them to be naive. Aristotle would want his political leader to be charitable no matter what the costs, however this could possibly leave him broke to uphold his status. Machiavelli's idea of a perfect leader is a fru
I've concluded, technically Machiavelli isn't completely ruthless; he does know that in order to obtain power and the trust of the people he has to exhibit honorable qualities. That's what Aristotle is trying to get at. Power and wealth mean nothing to him without happiness and he can not achieve happiness without living honorable and true. In order of importance Aristotle would put virtue before happiness and power, but so would Machiavelli. You have to tell people what they want to hear even if it isn't the truth. " Aristotle believes that happiness, power, and wealth come from being a genuinely good person, where as Machiavelli believes that being a good person doesn't have much to do with it. If you had morals you'd feel guilty knowing that all you've received is based on deceit. As the saying goes, "nice guys finish last. He's only focusing on the big picture. Once you've won the people's faith, it doesn't matter if you keep your word or not, you've got the power to do whatever you want. His health would be on the brink of extinction due to so much stress and loneliness. That is the key flaw in Machiavelli's plan for obtaining happiness. It makes you wonder if he has ever seriously considered the advice he gives. Machiavelli only cares about gaining wealth and power. He enjoys the material things in life.
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