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Characteristic of courage
Feudalism and its impact
Feudalism and its impact
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A good leadership is essential to the survival and success of kingdoms and empires. In the empires to be mentioned further on, there are violent leaders, benign and liberal leaders, and a combination of both. The latter is one who will come to be a leader whose work, will elevate the status of the kingdom and the people in it. A successful leader must be kind and tolerant, but at the same time, must not be afraid of being feared. On the way to become a prince, it is better to be loved, and viewed as benign. But after being established prince, it is better to be feared than loved, because fear is what keeps social order.
A Successful leader, according to Niccolo Machiavelli, is not one who is friendly, honest, and kind. It is someone, however
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Although signs of feudalism are seen in both, the citizens were granted protection in exchange for their produce. The political and economic systems of these societies, create trust towards the ruler and respect amongst the people. But however tolerant these societies were, the citizens had knowledge that actions that were to compromise the activities of the empire and therefor its leader, would lead to suffering and punishments. Successful leaders ought to be seen as understanding and a figure the people could trust, but a leader should never lose interest in inspiring fear and …show more content…
This means that however tolerant, kind, and clement people might think he is, he ought to inspire fear. Machiavelli suggested that a leader would be wise to make use of what he called Virtu (virtue). This concept for leaders involves, wisdom, strategy, strength, bravery, and if necessary, ruthlessness. Machiavelli uses the phrase “criminal virtue” to describe the ability that was necessary for leaders to be cruel in the interest of the state, yet good in the eyes of the people as a leader. Violence should be strictly necessary for the security of the state, but these violent acts should not be repeated too often, because a reputation of brutality builds up. As seen with the Mongol invasions, the repeated use of violence built them the reputation of barbaric and brutal – nevertheless, after these invasions, came periods of unification and prosperity-. “Cesare Borgia was considered cruel; notwithstanding, his cruelty reconciled the Romagna, unified it, and restored it to peace and loyalty. And if this be rightly considered, he will be seen to have been much more merciful than the Florentine people, who, to avoid a reputation for cruelty, permitted Pistoia to be destroyed. Therefore a prince, so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal, ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty” (Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince). Christian leaders suggested that princes should be merciful, peaceful, generous, and tolerant.
Throughout the centuries, this world has maintained various leaders that have ruled far and wide, or a small domain. All of which had various roles, morals, goals, etc.; some infamous, some admired, and some truly despised. There is a vast amount of written works pertaining to become a great leader. Lao-Tzu and Niccoló Machiavelli are prime examples of people who have written works about the topic, yet their views and ideas differ greatly. Yet, despite their opposite views, their intake and thoughts about leadership, both Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli’s indulge logically and carefully on a more personal and human level.
It has been shown again and again throughout history and literature that if there is a perfect human he is not also the perfect ruler. Those traits which we hold as good, such as the following of some sort of moral code, interfere with the necessity of detachment in a ruler. In both Henry IV and Richard II, Shakespeare explores what properties must be present in a good ruler. Those who are imperfect morally, who take into account only self-interest and not honor or what is appropriate, rise to rule, and stay in power.
Leadership qualities demonstrate a vital role in the products of society. While governing over many individuals, it is necessary to manifest the required attributes and take precautions to lead a community as a whole to success. Lao-Tzu and Niccoló Machiavelli’s written works are prime examples on what it means to become a great leader, although they differ considerably in their views on the subject. The two historical figures offer distinct evidence on their approach to violence, their reputation, and the treatment of their subjects. Through opposing ideas and intake, Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli logically and carefully contemplate the appropriate means to maintain power.
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.
When ruling there can be many challenges that are faced. When being an aggressive leader they do not hesitate. Hesitation to anything and or anyone could result in chaos. In Source D, “In serving his parents, a son may remonstrate with them, but gently; when he sees that they do not incline to follow his advice, he shows an increased degree of reverence, but does not abandon his purpose; and should they punish him, he does not allow himself to murmur.” In this source is shows that a ruler does not falter, a gentle aggressor. The leaders know what they must do and how to do it, and with some force, it will get done. As said in Source D, “he does not abandon his purpose”, powerful leaders can never forget their importance of ruling. That all they do is for their people. Even if that means being
For all of Machiavelli’s ruthlessness and espousal of deceit, he knew the value of authenticity and relying on his administration. A true leader cannot achieve greatness alone. Machiavelli says that the prince is the state, and the state is the prince. This means that whatever vision and principles the leader holds in the highest regard, they must be known to the state so that they can be realized. He believed that no matter how a prince was elected, his success would depend largely on his ministers. Collaboration between a prince and ministers would create an atmosphere of harmony and camaraderie, highly reducing the chances of rebellion. Without the support and cooperation of the people, military action is not possible, expansion is not possible and most importantly, governance is not possible. If a leader does not satisfy the needs of the people, they have the power to overthrow him through strength in numbers. Thus, a leader depends just as much on the people as they do on him. A leader must be able to convince the people to buy into his visio...
While “every sensible prince wishes to be considered, merciful and not cruel”(pg. 35), one should learn to be merciful in moderation. Not doing so can lead to unintended effects where if you are too “good” it can lead to being taken advantage of, or to “uprisings and civil war” because then you will be looked at as a pushover by your citizens and other neighboring countries. Therefore if you were to be cruel, people will fear you enough to, in theory, not go against you and stay united. But I think this concept seems more like a dictatorship, which thrives on citizens fear, and I don’t think it should be instilled in our government considering that most dictatorships end poorly and lead to more uprisings and civil war than with a merciful leader. And this is why the question in this section on whether it is better to be feared or loved also comes up. Machiavelli believes that a prince should find a balance of being both feared and loved and in general just try to escape hatred. If you are loved by your people, rarely will they betray you, but it is also good to be feared by other nations so that you are not looked upon as a target. So in this section of the prince I think the concept of ruling only on fear should not be used, however I do think that a leader should try balance being loved and
In order to be a considered or to be thought as a good leader one must possess good character. In order to do so, one should be able to conduct in a manner
“A leader or a man of action in a crisis almost always acts subconsciously and then thinks of the reasons for his action.” (Jawaharlal Nehru) Leaders throughout history have been idolized as the magnificent humans with the ability to sway the heart of man with both silent and thunderous footsteps. One such man being Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Shakespeare dictates that a leader is cunning, sharp minded, and a caring person who is prepared to dedicate their life to a goal and to the people they care for; the reason be “right” or “wrong”.
Machiavelli questions whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse. He begins by warning princes about being compassionate. Though rulers would rather be viewed more compassionate than cruel, Machiavelli asserts that it is safer to be feared than loved. He uses Borgia as an example to illustrate that cruelty can actually be compassion disguised: “Cesare Borgia was thought of as cruel; but this supposed cruelty of his restored order to the Romagna, united it, rendered it peaceful and law-abiding…much more compassionate than the people of Florence, who…allowed Pistoia to tear itself apart” (536). Machiavelli argues that for the sake of the state and its people, rulers should not be concerned with those who view them as cruel,
Throughout history, it can be argued that at the core of the majority of successful societies has stood an effective allocation of leadership. Accordingly, in their respective works “The Tao-te Ching” and “The Prince”, Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli have sought to reach a more complete understanding of this relationship. The theme of political leaders and their intricate relationship with society indeed manifests itself within both texts, however, both Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli approach this issue from almost entirely opposite positions. Lao-Tzu appears to focus the majority of his attention on letting problems or situations take their course and allowing good to prevail. On the contrary, Machiavelli advocates the necessity for a successful leader, or prince, to take control of his endeavors, and the skills or qualities necessary to maintain power, at any cost. Since these thinkers both make an inquiry to what is essentially the same dilemma of effective leadership, it becomes almost a natural progression to juxtapose the two in an effort to better understand what qualities a prosperous leader must possess. In this sense, when we utilize the rhetorical strategy of compare/contrast as a vehicle to transport us to a more enlightened interpretation of Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli’s conclusions, it becomes apparent that Machiavelli’s effort is much more successful as his practicality serves its purpose much more effectively.
In the article, “The Morals of the Prince,” Niccolo Machiavelli manipulates that a prince should be feared by his people and he do not need to be merciful, because it can make the country become stable and the people have loyalty to the prince. In my opinion, Machiavelli’s idea is controversial. It is true that if everyone is afraid of the prince, people could not do things out of norm. To be feared by the civilians, as Machiavelli states, can let the prince gain strong political power. Using this power to govern the country making the prince’s job easier. However, if the prince is too strict to his people, they will convert their fear to hate, which could make the society become turbulence. People will rebel and protest on the street, so the
Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince is a basically a list of controvertible attributes of a great leader. Machiavelli does compares good attribute to bad ones. In his comparisons he points out that although some traits are considered honorable qualities of a prince, they are the ones that harm the authority of the prince the most. Machiavelli explains how it’...
Compassion, like generosity is also admired. But a ruler must be careful that he does not show compassion unwisely. A new ruler has to be cruel initially, because being a new ruler is full of d...
Although, Machiavelli argues that an ideal ruler must be cruel, feared and unjust in order to maintain power in his paper, "The Prince", this is not necessary true. An ideal ruler must be assertive, just and filled with integrity to maintain power, prestige, and the loyalty of those he governs.