machiavelli's the prince
Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince examines the nature of power and his views of power which are still somewhat in existence today. I will discuss and examine what I feel to be the most important principals of Machiavelli's theory. Machiavelli stresses power over the people, dictatorial power, and power with people (shared power). While it is possible to use power to attain greater prevalence in society, there will always be people who have power over them. In The Prince, Machiavelli discusses two distinct groups of people, the political elite, including nobles and other princes, and the general public. Today in the Canada, the first group, the political elite, includes political leaders, religious leaders, business leaders and the leaders of strong lobbying groups. The composition of the general public has changed little from Machiavelli's time.Machiavelli starts the book off explaining the different kinds of states, republics and principalities. He then goes on to explain the types of principalities, heredity, mixed, and what he calls "new". New principalities are principalities that have just been created and their leaders are not hereditary. Mixed principalities are like those of the P
"Such princes stand simply upon the will and fortune of whoever conceded it to them, which are two most voluble and unstable things: and they do not know how and they have not the power to hold that rank: they do not know, because, if he is not a man of great genius and virtue, it is not reasonable that, having always lived in private fortune, he knows how to command; they cannot, because they do not have forces that might be friendly and faithful to them. Machiavelli also discusses inherent power of the public, which exists despite the dictatorial power that any prince exercises. Machiavelli's views have been misinterpreted since his book was first written, people take him in the wrong way, and are offended by what he says. A prince must act with dictatorial power in order to maintain his position. The first is the best way in his opinion because land acquired that way is the easiest to hang on to after you have conquered it, because you will still have your loyal militia, not mercenaries, and your own virtues to rule the principality wisely. When a prince can keep his composure through timesof distress, it reassures his servents that he deserving of his position. If the ruler is not feared by the people, he will eventually upset enough of them that they will rise up against him, and they will overthrow him because of his perceived weakness. In The Prince, Machiavelli asserts that it is best for a ruler to be both feared and loved, but if he cannot be both, it is much better to be feared. Military knowledge is one of the most important qualities a prince can have. By this, they were able to command respect from everyone who served. Machiavelli suggests providing people with power in terms of arms, since "when you arm them, these weapons become your own" (Machiavelli, p. He claims that ambition and dictatorial power drive most nobles and princes.
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