Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Two-party system of American politics
Two-party system of American politics
Two-party system of American politics
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Two-party system of American politics
American political government contained two large parties which control most of the Congress: the Democrat and Republic parties. Both parties have held different points of view on different topics such as health care. However an effective government is also based on a how a leader governs the country. Lao Tzu was an ancient Chinese philosopher, and Niccolo Machiavelli, in The Prince, an Italian philosopher, present ideas that are very contradictory to each other. Lao Tzu appears liberal as a master who will not control the people while Machiavelli states a prince must emerge and take control of his people. Although both appear to be more contradictory, but they are appear more consentient than they are appear to be. Since these two individuals both made a claim about effective leadership, it became natural to oppose the two as an effort to better understand what attributes a successful leader must possess. Therefore, according to the present government, it would best to combine both extreme ideas, which are Lao Tzu’s teachings on how to manage the government and Machiavelli’s tactics of how to maintain power as a leader in order to develop a more effective and prosperous government.
According Lao Tzu’s teaching, his laissez-faire attitude was the most suitable in today’s government. He states, “If you want to be a great leader, you must learn to follow the Tao. Stop trying to control. Let go of fixed plans and concepts, and the world will govern itself” (Verse 57). This has supported by his writing that he believed that a successful form of government depend on the good relations between the people and its leader. Also he strongly believed that once cannot have total control and that things would be run as its course when the t...
... middle of paper ...
...ill just do what the leader ordered because they fear the consequences of not doing it. Notably, Lao Tzu’s perceptual teaching and Machiavelli’s rationality tactics were both too intense and harsh; either method will not persist long in today’s modern politic government where people believe more in freedom.
However, it is because both Lao Tzu’s and Machiavelli’s ideas were too extreme, that the most effective government is to combine both ideas from the two philosophers in order to balance out. Lao believed that the less the leader or government intervenes; the happier the people. While Machiavelli believed that the importance of gaining power and holding the state is to be held at any cost. Hence a ruler who is both aggressive and passionate in moderation will be able to gain the trust of people, win their loyalty, and have the ability to stay in the government.
Despite the fact that this group of minds behind the birth of our government, had many different passionate perceptions on how said government be formed, they were still bound by close personal relationships. The second theme is present throughout the entire book. Especially in “The Dinner”, which I will discuss in more detail later on. Many of the important decisions early on were not only deliberated in public, but were also debated and contested in private at meetings and dinner parties.
Perhaps the most distinct differences between Machiavelli's and Lao-Tzu's are their beliefs in how a government should be run. Whereas Machiavelli writes about the qualities a prince should have while instilling a totalitarian government, Lao-Tzu strongly believes that one cannot have total control, so everything should run its course.
Lao-Tzu’s work, “Tao-Te Ching”, is a philosophical guide to the ideal life and the role government plays. Furthermore, it shows how to live a life of contentment without material possessions. He wrote this as a solution, of sorts, to what was fundamentally wrong with his society. Even though the “Tao” was written thousands of years ago, it is still relevant in modern society; the problems we experience are not unlike his, but on a larger scale. Modern American Society goes completely against Lao-Tzu’s ideology. Specifically, Americans give up too much of their power by allowing the government to make decisions for them, many people become reliant on government subsidies, and they also let materialism
Although they share some similarities in ideology, these parallels are greatly overshadowed by the concepts in which Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli diverge. Their primary distinction lies within their view of human nature and it’s role in governing. Lao-Tzu maintains that if we promote a system of governing to the least possible extent, then human nature should manifest a favorable temperance and dictate the direction of society. In fact, Lao-Tzu asserts numerous attempts to illustrate his point that if leaders, “Stop Trying to control” (§ 57, 35), then there is no desire (§ 37, 24), he dwells in reality (§ 38, 29), and “the world will govern itself.” (§ 57, 35) Although this is an extremely optimistic and beneficial ideal, the main problem with Lao-Tzu’s entire philosophy is exactly that, it can only be viewed as a philosophy. Because it appears under the section entitled “Government,” I...
In an earlier century, Niccoló Machiavelli, wrote a document called, “The Prince.” This book was about what it takes to be a successful ruler, and the number one rule of course was: “Power is Everything.” How you acquire the power made no difference as long as you had it. Many people repulsed Machiavelli’s idea of power at all costs, but it would soon be the basis of the government in some countries.
Niccolo Machiavelli, John Locke, and John Stuart Mill present three distinct models of government in their works The Prince, Second Treatise of Government, and Utilitarianism. From an examination of these models it is possible to infer their views about human nature and its connection to the purpose of government. A key to comparing these views can be found in an examination of their ideas of morality as an intermediary between government and human nature. Whether this morality must be inferred from their writings or whether it is explicitly mentioned, it differs among the three in its definition, source, and purpose.
Many people in history have written about ideal rulers and states and how to maintain them. Perhaps the most talked about and compared are Machiavelli's, The Prince and Plato's, The Republic. Machiavelli lived at a time when Italy was suffering from its political destruction. The Prince, was written to describe the ways by which a leader may gain and maintain power. In Plato?s The Republic, he unravels the definition of justice. Plato believed that a ruler could not be wholly just unless one was in a society that was also just. His state and ruler was made up to better understand the meaning of justice. It was not intended to be practiced like that of Machiavelli's. Machiavelli, acknowledging this, explains that it is his intention to write something that is true and real and useful to whoever might read it and not something imaginary,"?for many have pictured republics and principalities which in fact have never been known or seen?(Machiavelli 375)." Therefore, because one ruler is realistic and the other imaginary, the characteristics of Machiavelli's ruler versus Plato's ruler are distinctly different.
Only a person who thinks that man is evil would think of such ways to run a government in the way that Machiavelli thought a government should be operated. Machiavelli felt that “crafty and deceitful princes have historically defeated the faithful princes”(Prince). What happened to the idea of a caring leader, one who could be trusted to make decisions that the majority of the people agreed with? I do not agree with Machiavelli that a leader should be deceitful in order to for his country to succeed or grow. I think that what a leader is depends on what type of man you are good or evil.
The political culture that defines American politics shows that despite this compromise, America is still very much a democratic society. The very history of the country, a major contributor to the evolution of its political culture, shows a legacy of democracy that reaches from the Declaration of Independence through over two hundred years to today’s society. The formation of the country as a reaction to the tyrannical rule of a monarchy marks the first unique feature of America’s democratic political culture. It was this reactionary mindset that greatly affected many of the decisions over how to set up the new governmental system. A fear of simply creating a new, but just as tyrannic... ...
Lao-Tzu wants a good relationship with the people. A leader should be loved and not feared. Machiavelli thinks that it is best that the leader have fear over the people. Machiavelli says, “I reply that one should like to be both one and the other, but since it is difficult to join them together, it is much safer to be feared than loved when one of the two must be lacking.” (Machiavelli 44). If you rule in fear, people will not respect you nor will they like you. The people are just doing what the leader wants because they fear the consequences of not doing it. If I was in a relationship with my boyfriend, I would want to have a good relationship with him. If my boyfriend abuses me and threatens to hurt me if I ever leave him, of course I would listen to him and do what he says. I do not want to get hurt. I don’t want my boyfriend to physically abuse me or mentally abuses me in any way, so I would listen to him. He put that fear into my mind so I would do as he says. If someone told me if I left my boyfriend and they are sure that no harm will come my way, I would definitely leave him. I do not want to be around or associated with some who abuses me. I rather be with someone that I respect and have a good relationship with.
To be Machiavellian you must have certain characteristics that include, deceiving your people for the better, doing whatever it takes to prosper and being loved by your people, but also utilizing their fears to control them. Machiavelli a Florentine diplomat created principles to rule by which worked in Europe and around the world. Louis XIV a French monarch used these principles to keep his nobility in line and he reigned for a prosperous and very lengthy time. Also very successful Askia Muhammad I of Africa overthrew the Royal Songhai family to become one of the most well known leaders of his time. And lastly, but not the only other person that was successful using these principles, Montezuma II.
...ering the recent changes in China’s politics. Many are wondering what the future holds for Chinese politics and the idea of a democracy with Confucian characteristics is something many have been looking at since Confucianism holds an important place in Chinese traditions. We have witnessed on many occasions the failure of trying to implement a democratic system in a country that either wasn’t “ready” for democracy or a country where the political culture wasn’t compatible with the democracy models we are used to. This idea is very relevant when you talk about China since it’s easy to see how democracy might not fit right with the Chinese political culture. In such a case, the best solution would be a democracy with Confucian characteristics. So we can see here how the relationship between Confucianism and democracy is something worth reflecting on in current times.
Through his many years of experience with Italian politics Machiavelli wrote “The Prince”; a how-to guide for new rulers. We are given descriptions of what a leader should do to effectively lead his country. A leader should be the only authority determining every aspect of the state and put in effect a policy to serve his best interests. These interests are gaining, maintaining, and expanding his political power. Machiavelli’s idea is that a ruler should use a variety of strategies (virtues) to secure his power. Machiavelli lists five virtues that a ruler should appear to have; being compassionate, trustworthy, generous, honest and religious. A ruler should possess all the qualities considered good by other people.
It is commonly believed by both lay people and political philosophers alike that an authoritative figure is good and just so long as he or she acts in accordance with various virtues. If the actions of a ruler are tailored toward the common good of the people rather than himself, then that ruler is worthy of occupying the status of authority. By acting in accordance with social and ethical norms, the ruler is deemed worthy of respect and authority. Niccolò Machiavelli challenges our moral intuitions about moral authority in his work, the Prince, by ruthlessly defending the actions made by the state in an effort to preserve power. In particular, all actions made by the state are done in order to preserve its power, and preserving the state’s power preservers its people. In doing so, whatever actions the state exercises are justified with this end goal in mind. Although such reasoning may seem radical, it is practice more readily that most people are inclined to believe. Machiavelli's moral philosophy is deeply embedded in the present day justice administration. Due to this, Machiavelli’s political thought can serve as a reference for illustrating how today’s administrators can benefit from following the examples of other great leaders, such as on matters of global warming.
Notwithstanding the two philosophers’ different views on abstract concepts, Machiavelli’s virtù to fortuna is comparable to Plato’s Justice to Good. Each philosopher grants his ruler with a specific trait that deviates from the leader’s acquired knowledge of abstract concepts. Under their beliefs, the best ruler is the one who conforms to this virtuous trait--for Plato, Justice (Plato 519b-c), and for Machiavelli, virtù (Machiavelli, Prince 29). These traits then extend to a multitude of characteristics that define the careful instruction both philosophers laid out and that will allow the leader to directly change society into a worthy political