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The prince and politics
Politics in the medieval period
Political changes in medieval europe
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Question 1 Machiavelli’s supposed government manual title The Prince, written 1513, though not published until 1532 a few years later, after his death, created controversies for an ideal leader to conduct its reign. It has been debated that perhaps The Prince may have been a satire on the ruthless and selfish behaviour of political leaders. Nonetheless, it did make a change for political thoughts. Medieval political ideas were that the standards of all governments should be judged as derived from moral principles established by God. Machiavelli argued that governments should be secular and be judged by how well they provided security, order, and safety to their people. Question 2 What it meant to be human in the Renaissance movement was to
Machiavelli’s, “The Prince” is the ideal book for individuals intending to both govern and maintain a strong nation. Filled with practical advice, he includes numerous religious references to support his claims. He devotes a chapter within the book to speak about the ancient founders of states. In the chapter called, “On new principalities that are acquired by one’s own arms and by virtue”, Machiavelli discussed the importance of a prince to have their own talent in governing a nation, rather than having relied on fortune to rule. The latter is a risk no leader should take and he cited past leaders as a guide for both the current and future princes.
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.
of participating in a conspiracy to restore the republic, because of this he was sent to jail for three weeks, and tortured. He fled the city of Florence, and decided to settle down in a calm quiet town called Sant’Andrea. He also decided to continue his dream and career as a writer. In 1513 he started to write his Discourses, this book focused on states controlled by the prince and the citizens. It was not finished until 1521, because he interrupted his work on Discourses to write the very famous The Prince.
The 16th century novella The Prince by Niccoló Machiavelli discoursed on politics and set standardized methods of obtaining and maintaining power in varying situations. Despite Machiavelli using historical and dated examples to fortify his claims, the ideology behind his novella has held true for the past 500 years. The Prince on several occasions discusses the power struggle between the nobility and the common people; the situation in the United States differs from Machiavelli’s model in that wealthy groups and individuals compete for political influence at the expense of the voice of the nation’s citizens. Special interest groups, particularly large corporations, relentlessly lobby Congress to support legislation that benefits a small handful of individuals. Politicians operate on receiving large campaign donations in order to maintain political power and their exorbitant salary. The Prince supports that a leader who sides with the most powerful faction will enjoy greater
Niccolo Machiavelli lived in Florence, Italy in the 1400’s. The country of Italy was divided into city-states that had their own leaders, but all pledged alliance to their king. In time in which great leaders were needed in order to help the development of a city-state and country, Machiavelli had a theory that man needed a leader to control them. In his book The Prince, he speaks of the perfect leader.
Machiavelli is undisputedly one of the most influential political philosophers of all time. In The Prince, his most well-known work, he relates clearly and precisely how a decisive, intelligent man can gain and maintain power in a region. This work is revolutionary because it flies in the face of the Christian morality which let the Roman Catholic Church hold onto Europe for centuries. Machiavelli's work not only ignores the medieval world's ethics: The Prince suggests actions which oppose the four most basic of Christianity's Ten Commandments.
Possibly the most controversial book ever written, The Prince by Machiavelli, focuses on how a Prince or leader should rule. Many of the techniques that are stated in the text have caused many debates ever since it’s publication. When Machiavelli composed the Prince, his contemporaries were shocked at the ideas and themes presented. The Prince introduced a whole new way of thinking that was almost completely contrary to present beliefs. For that reason, in 1559 the Pope banned the printing of the Prince and the rest of Machiavelli’s writings.
The Prince is still very relevant in today’s contemporary society because politicians still use Machiavelli’s ideas of how to gain and stay in power. Machiavelli studied great rulers whose empires have fallen and wrote how he would have fixed it; or as it is known today: political science. President Obama and many others have used Machiavellian tactics during their presidency, this helped in getting them elected a second time. Machiavelli has a great influence on politics in today’s society
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.
In the sixteenth century, there were three sets of socioeconomic statuses that one could acquire or be a part of, the clergy, the nobility, and the peasantry. The divide between these three generalized classes was far more complicated in reality that it seems, as socioeconomic classes consist of multiple branches. Nonetheless, it all essentially came down to two undeniable factions, the oppressors and the oppressed. Niccolo Machiavelli, being a mixture of the two due to his living situation while writing the book, gained a middle-ground which allowed him to achieve omnipotent intelligence that so many rulers normally lack, first hand experience of what it like to live both lives, one as a peasant and the other as a nobleman. This omnipotent
Machiavelli is “a crystal-clear realist who understands the limits and uses of power.” -- Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jared Diamond (2013)
Niccolò Machiavelli wrote, in his novel The Prince, that strong central political leadership was more important than anything else, including religion and moral behavior. Machiavelli, writing during a period of dramatic change known as the Italian Renaissance, displayed attitudes towards many issues, mostly political, which supported his belief that strong government was the most important element in society. These attitudes and ideas were very appropriate for the time because they stressed strong, centralized power, the only kind of leadership that seemed to be working throughout Europe, and which was the element Italy was lacking. Machiavelli understood that obtaining such a government could not be done without separating political conduct and personal morality, and suggested that the separation be made. The Prince, written to the Medici family over five hundred years ago contained many truths, so universal and accurate that they still influence politics today.
In “The Prince”, Machiavelli suggests that a prince should have five qualities which include; merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious. Machiavelli specifies that it is not a must to have those five qualities, but that it is necessary to appear to have them in order to be an accomplished leader. The first quality Machiavelli suggests that a prince should appear to have is mercy. It is a courageous act of a prince to give up the temptation to take revenge on those who oppose his rise to power. Appearing to give forgiveness is a merciful act in which allows the prince to show true remorse and commitment to those who were wronged and restore the trust that has been compromised. The aspect of learning from past mistakes makes his followers
Machiavelli’s The Prince was written more than 500 years ago and it is “one of the most influential and controversial books published in Western literature.” (Article A) It was about Machiavelli’s political philosophies and the basic principles of what he believes a politician or “prince” should be. The three main ideas of the Prince were “Liberality and Stinginess”, “Cruelty and Mercy: Is It Better to Be Loved Than Feared, or the Reverse?”, and “How a Prince Should Keep Their Promises” and for the most part many of his concepts should or are already instilled in our government.
"Thi Pronci" by Nocculu Mechoevillo os ebuat thi urogonetoun uf e pronci. Muri ur liss huw e pronci cen stert frum thi buttum end bicumi e griet kong ur doi et thi fiit uf hos piupli bifuri riechong hos promi. Tu bicumi e pronci thiri eri meny doffirint weys whoch os ixpleon on thos buuk fur ixempli "Tu errovi et thos pusotoun dipinds nut intorily un wurth". Stetong thet thiri eri e nambir uf wey yua cen bicumi e pronci by Fevur uf thi piupli, bat mast meonteon e hielthy froindshop end uffir prutictoun tu thi cotozins tu bi un guud stenderds thriw uat thi cummanoty. Cromi ur voulinci elsu cen bi e bog fectur un geon puwir end rispict tu lied thi piupli hevong thim fier yua es pronci. Alsu thiri eri muri netarel weys uf bicumong e pronci by biong Borth ontu e femoly uf ruyel hostury bat stoll hevong thi semi bardin tu chuusi yuar ruli tu geon puwir, luvi ur furtani es e liedir. Thriw uat thi stury ot govis yua en uatloni uf chuusong yuar ruli es e pronci yua cen lovi end sirvir on e guud wey, sach es biong et piech woth yuar kongdum ur coty siiong huw "A wosi pronci shuald fulluw somoler mithuds end nivir rimeon odli on piecifal tomis" by ribaoldong ur riechong uat tu thi piupli ot cuald sivir griet edvirsoty. Su of furtani chengis thi kongdum woll stoll bi bihond yua nu mettir whet cumis on thi nier deys tu cumi. At thi semi tomi yuar ermy woll niglict yua of thiy fiil loki ot's tuu mach pieci on thi erie end nut inuagh wer. Cuald pussoboloty ceasi yua tu bicumi totlid es suft ur wiek tu uthir ondovodaels end pirheps telk emung thi kongdum wuald spried loki e bed girm end cuald lied tu e pronci biong uvir thruwn ur kollid. Whoch lieds tu thi brekong puont uf thi stury whiri e pronci cuald teki thi sevegi end crail ruati. Tekong edventegi uf hos puwir end nut elluwong thi piupli tu bier erms end hori furiognirs es suldoirs tu stringth thi ermy whu prutict yua end thi cotozins wothon yuar wells. Steyong luyel tu thusi whu pat thiri lofi un thi loni dey on end dey uat ur jast foght fur yua ur e lung yua cuald lied tu luts uf wielth end furtani end puwir.