THE PRINCE
Governing countries and states properly has been a difficult task from thebeginning of time. In every country there will be people to who are unhappyand will disagree with your rule, causing your system to fail. So, century aftercentury, people have tried new ways to make their politics suffice everyone'sneeds. However, the art of politics is a complicated and challenging issue thatwill always be needed to be dealt with. There have been many ways in whichpeople have preached their ideas on politics, but none were better than those ofNiccolo Machiavelli. Born in 1469, Niccolo was adamant in creating a masterplan for seizing and controlling power. He voiced these themes on what it takesto be a prince of a state in his magnificent book, The Prince. In his book manythemes were expressed in order to fulfill the role of a prince. These themesranged from human nature to military force and most importantly virtue. Machavelli believed that the state is the highest achievement of man andone should love the state more than his own soul. Being the perfect prince isclearly a difficult task, but if done correctly, it can be very rewarding. Machiavellialso believed that human nature does not change.
That way he can get the respect from the people rightaway. Machiavellimade it very clear why it is better to be feared than loved. Love can loseeffectiveness because of human nature. He also feltfortifications had little importance, stating "the best fortress is to be found in thelove of the people". He can defendhimself from conspiracies by avoiding hatred. He must sometimes caress, sometimes hurt, sometimes forgive, andsometimes punish. A prince can defend himself fromexternal attacks by having good armed forces and good friends. This requirement must override all moral judgments, andwhen making the decision, the ruler must act without hesitation. Virtue means strength, intelligence, and courage, thenecessary qualities of any human being. In general Machiavellithought people were ungrateful, selfish, and insincere people, who only careabout themselves. He studied human nature, fortune, militarytactics, virtue, and personal qualities of past rulers and analyzed why each one'srule collapsed. These characteristics are imperativefor a new ruler especially. Machiavelli felt thatthese were necessary means in becoming a successful ruler. This would mean you would have to depend on the help of foreigncountries.
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