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Nazi propaganda during World War 2
Nazi propaganda during World War 2
Nazi propaganda during World War 2
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SaDale Richards
POLS 1102
Machiavelli Essay
The person that closely embodied Machiavelli’s “The Prince” was Adolf Hitler. There is more to Adolf Hitler than everyone usually knows. Besides from being one of the most hated people in the history of the world, he had the characteristics of a good leader. The correlation between him, and Machiavelli’s perspective on what a good prince/leader is supposed to be is extremely similar. It is as if Hitler Studied “The Prince” before he began to pursue his rule over Germany. There are several ideas that are presented, to prove this comparison plausible.
“The Prince” is often referred to as a guidebook for thugs. After reading it, and comparing it to Hitler. It makes that idea become more
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They had a very good reason to after all. He threw fear upon the people, and came to a conclusion that all Jewish people were sinners. Any person caught aiding a Jewish person or befriending one would be dealt with. These were the scare tactics Hitler used to control his people. He had overwhelming authority over his people. Which Machiavelli said is the best way to be. He used this the against the Holocaust victims, and against the people of Germany. To just flat out annihilate the Jewish people all together. Other countries also showed fear of him. According to Machiavelli, you should strive to be either loved, feared or both. Hitler had no interest in being loved. He wanted what he wanted and he got it. Once he threw the fear upon people, no one dared to question his authority. Once that fear factor came into play, he had Germany in the palm of his hands. People were afraid to sleep at night, because the fear was so unfathomable. They were worried they would say something to offend the Nazi’s. There’s a quote from The Prince, “it’s better to be feared/hated than to be loved. Hitler definitely had that part down.
Hitler relates to The Prince quite well. Especially on his rise to power. He wanted to obtain his power politically, rather than by brute force. He spoke to all of the German people through his verbal displays. He wanted all of his people to avoid the communist and Jewish. He captured the popular votes and had the people on
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Hitler followed Machiavelli’s advice involving his military power. He made all of his military men swear themselves to him and not the country. Hitler wasn’t necessarily a man of absolute strategy. He named himself the commander of all the military forces. He was actually the cause of the Second World War. He was far from neutral. He allied himself with weaker countries such as Japan and Italy. Machiavelli said never ally yourself with a stronger power, and he did not. It is not a smart thing to do, because that allied force, could eventually overwhelm you. He did embark on military journeys, he and his military were happy to do. In his eyes he did it do try and cleanse world and become powerful. The subject war was always on his mind. Because Germany was constantly at war. Machiavelli’s said war should always be on one’s mind. He always had a strategic plan when he conquered countries like, Belgium, France, Denmark, and Poland. One of his unsuccessful takeovers, was when he tried to take over Russia. That strategic plan didn’t work out so well. He failed, but no one is
They were all very true and I certainly agree with most of it. It reminds me of the phrase, “with great power comes great responsibilities”, and while I do not condone violence nor the obsession of one, to remain in a position of power, I certainly do no object to the idea that many inhumane things need to be done in order for power to be kept. Crude power as presented in The Prince, requires that one be vicious, merciless, feared and respected. We are often told that, in life, we must do whatever is necessary to reach our goals. Why should the attention of power be any
Machiavelli believes that a government should be very structured, controlled, and powerful. He makes it known that the only priorities of a prince are war, the institutions, and discipline. His writings describes how it is more important for a prince to be practical than moral. This is shown where he writes, "in order to maintain the state he is often obliged to act against his promise, against charity, against humanity, and against religion" (47). In addition, Machiavelli argues that a prince may have to be cunning and deceitful in order to maintain political power. He takes the stance that it is better for the prince to be feared than loved. His view of how a government should run and his unethical conduct are both early signs of dictatorship.
Hitler was furious with Germany’s surrender in World War I, so when he got back to his home in Munich, he was determined to enter politics and become the greatest leader in German history (Smith). He spent all of his time and effort trying to become the chancellor of Germany. Once he was voted into being chancellor, he needed a way to become the leader of all of Germany. Hitler gathered power through many acts of t...
Although Machiavelli gives numerous points on what it takes to excel as a prince, he also shows some raw examples of how he feels a prince should act in order to achieve maximum supremacy. First, when he says, "ought to hold of little account a reputation for being mean, for it is one of those vices which will enable him to govern" proves Machiavelli feels mighty adamant about his view that being mean will help a prince achieve success (332). It is absurd to imagine the meanest prince as the most successful. Also, when Machiavelli states, "our experience has been that those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft" revealing his attitude to manipulate people into fearing and respecting the prince (335). Also, Machiavelli shows that for a prince to be successful, he must not think about good faith.
Throughout many centuries, different philosophers have argued contrasting ideas on the nature of justice and on the role of government in society. These philosophers, Plato, Machiavelli, and Hobbes, have differing ideas regarding how a state or society should be governed, who should run the state, what the responsibilities of the leader/people are, and the ultimate purpose of the state. All three philosophers were writing in different eras, so they have they have different philosophies. During Plato's era, man based philosophy on utopian ideals and principles. The primary concern was with how things should be, not how they were. If humans were to all behave this way, it would result in a perfect society. However, Machiavelli was a realist, he was concerned about things now, not how things could be if the world was perfect.
Machiavelli?s model for his ideal prince was Cesare Borgia, also known as Duke Valentino and son of Pope Alexander VI. He believed Cesare Borgia possessed all the qualities of a prince destined to rule and maintain power in his state. He believed that politics has a morality of its own. There is no regard of justness or unjustness, of cruelty or mercy, of approval or humiliation, which should interfere with the decision of defending the state and preserving its freedom. Therefore, the ruler/prince's single responsibilit...
The most astounding aspect of The Prince is Machiavelli’s view that princes may indeed, be cruel and dishonest if their ultimate aim is for the good of the state. It is not only acceptable but necessary to lie, to use torture, and to walk over other states and cities. Machiavellianism is defined as “A political doctrine of Machiavelli, which denies the relevance of morality in political affairs and holds that craft and deceit are justified in pursuing and maintaining political power (Def.)” This implies that in the conquest for power, the ends justify the means. This is the basis of Machiavellianism. The priority for the power holder is to keep the security of the state regardless of the morality of the means. He accepts that these things are in and of themselves morally wrong, but he points out that the consequences of failure, the ruin of states and the destruction of cities, can be far worse. Machiavelli strongly emphasizes that princes should not hesitate to use immoral methods to achieve power, if power is necessary for security and survival.
Hitler was very manipulative before he even took over as dictator, and even before he was announced the Chancellor of Germany. Hitler’s plan all along was to become the dictator of Germany, even before he was...
After World War I, Germany was in an agonizing crisis. They had lost the war they began, and their economy was a chaos. People were desperate for a rise in politics, for an improvement. So, they introduced, Adolf, who was their secret weapon. He had a significant hatreds, and thoughts, but most importantly he had a special capability. "Hitler had found his great talent for speaking. And he could see immediately that his powerful speaking could be easily bend the people to his will." (Wolosky pg. 16)
only thing to do in a time of war. It is seen that Hitler did not want
Hitler’s plans for Germany were both meaningless and cruel. His first goal was to establish what he thought was the ‘supreme’ race, Aryan. Aryan people are tall and skinny, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and light skin (FYI: Hitler had none of these characteristics, and rumor has it that his grandmother was Jewish.). Every other person was not considered human to him, especially Jewish people. Hitler hated Jewish people the most because he thought that because of their beliefs and living style they lost World War I. Also according to Hitler, Jews were maggots, parasites, vampire spiders sucking blood, and vermin. Hitler thought it was not enough to only eliminate the ‘enemies’ of the Aryan race, but they also needed space to live. This is when his second goal came into play. He started relocating them, starving them, shutting down their shops and many more things. The worst part was that he lied to them when he said they were relocating them, he was really taking them to concentration camps.
Niccolo Machiavelli was a political philosopher from Florence, Italy. The period that Machiavelli lived in was the "rebirth" of art in Italy and rediscovery of ancient philosophy, literature and science. He wrote The Prince, in which he discusses the proper way of living as a prince. His ideas, which were not viewed as beneficial at the time, were incredibly cynical and took time for the rest of the population to really catch onto the ideas. Machiavelli’s view of human nature was that humans are born evil, and while they can show good traits, and the common man is not to be trusted. Unlike Confucius, Machiavelli believes that human nature cannot be changed, and unlike Plato, where Plato believes in humans as social beings. Each respected view
In The Prince, Machiavelli separates ethics from politics. His approach to politics, as outlined in The Prince, is strictly practical. Machiavelli is less concerned with what is right and just, and instead with what will lead to the fortification of the government and the sustainment of power. Machiavelli believed that a ruler should use any means necessary to obtain and sustain power. He says, “…people judge by outcome. So if a ruler wins wars and holds onto power, the means he has employed will always be judged honorable, and everyone will praise them” (Machiavelli, 55). According to Machiavelli, the ends of an action justify the means (Machiavelli, 55). His motivation for these views in The Prince was the reunification of the Italian city-states (Machiavelli, 78-79). Machiavelli wanted Italy to return to its glory of the Roman Empire (Machiavelli 78-79). Some of the beliefs of Machiavelli could be perceived as evil and cruel, but he found them necessary. Machiavelli was not concerned with making people happy. His purpose was outcome and success, and in his opinion, the only way to be successful was to be realistic. These views of Machiavelli could classify him as one of the earliest modern
This is what had made Hitler one of the greatest public speakers that the world had ever seen from his time and in history. "The German people and it 's soldiers work and fight today not for themselves and their own age, but also for many generations to come. A historical task of unique dimensions has been entrusted to us by the Creator that we are now obliged to carry out." Hitler, the Fuhrer of Germany, was a very talented spokesman in ways that leaders today could not even begin to compare with. He was charismatic and bold, making it easier for him to win over the minds of many Germans with these two traits. He believed that during his rise to power, he and the people of Germany had been given a duty by God to purify the nation of its imperfect races and weaker people so as to make the mother country strong again for future generations. "Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live." In many ways, Hitler felt he was justified in what he was doing, and in some
The book The Prince was a book of advice to politicians regarding how gain power and keep that power. The title The Prince is not about someone who has inherited land and a decedent to a king. In Machiavelli’s perspective a prince was a man of the citizens....