He notes that leaders must consider the interests of the state first. Being an expert at prioritizing is very beneficial for a ruler. Machiavelli claims that the ruler must inspire both fear and love. However, at machiavelli the prince essay time people achieved power either by overthrowing others or inheriting the throne. Therefore, he is not a very well-rounded prince and ultimately dies at the hands of the Dothraki because of it.
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Machiavelli the prince essay the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, Italy was in an unfavorable position. It was divided into small parts. Rome, Florence, Genoa, Venice, and other parts of the country were all independent warring states. The country was at war with such powerful states as modern-time France and Spain. Great thinkers of the epoch tried to find the right answer. One of the most outstanding authors of his century was Niccolo Machiavelli. Who was Machiavelli? He is famous as a diplomat, philosopher, and writer. His best-known masterpiece is Machiavelli the prince essay Prince that he wrote in Niccolo contributed to Western thinking through a number of other essential discourses, too. He wrote a lot about the principles of warfare machiavelli the prince essay diplomacy.
For many years, he served as a high-ranking official in the Florentine Republic. For example, in the years —he worked as secretary of the second chancellor. At that time, the powerful dynasty of Medici was not in power in Florence. Machiavelli witnessed how Medici II re-gained power by helping the Spanish forces defeat Florence. Machiavelli was expelled from the citystate of Florence for a year. Inhe went to prison, machiavelli the prince essay. He was released after three weeks. He was engaged in diplomatic and military affairs, machiavelli the prince essay. His personal letters are a valuable source of information for historians and scholars.
From the facts that we know, machiavelli the prince essay, Machiavelli seemed never to consider himself a philosopher. He even denied some philosophical studies, machiavelli the prince essay. Neither was he satisfied with the standard model of academic philosophy. His writings were not always systematic and consistent. Instead of pure logical analysis, he often turns to experience and examples. However, Machiavelli is usually listed among political philosophers. He tried to emphasize a pure political pragmatism. He focused on existential questions, too. Philosophers all over the world are eager to study and discuss his ideas. The term is rather widespread in both political and business spheres.
It challenges the entire tradition of political philosophy. It gives a different perspective on the motives and actions of rulers, machiavelli the prince essay. Machiavelli the prince essay principles written down by Machiavelli were meant to help the Prince machiavelli the prince essay influential and respected. InLorenzo became the duke of Urbino. He develops a strategy for quite an authoritarian ruler. The thinker advises the Prince to modify his ruling style. He claims that combining machiavelli the prince essay methods in ruling the state is more effective. This should help the Prince expand the empire and make people from all over the state loyal to him.
However, at the time people achieved power either by overthrowing others or inheriting the throne. It was too early for moral and ethical considerations to play a crucial role. Democracy was not accessible at the epoch. Let us consider the tips proposed by Machiavelli in more detail. Conquering power through wars implies cruelty. Despite innocent victims, Machiavelli claims that it is an appropriate means to gain and keep power. The thinker gives a horrible recommendation to make sure that the previous ruler has no heirs. In his essay, Machiavelli reflects on how love and fear help a ruler preserve power. Any leader needs obedience and loyalty of their subordinates. According to the author, Lorenzo should know how to make people like him and be afraid of him at the same time.
That is arguably the main objective of a new ruler. While everyone is unique, Machiavelli does not focus on their differences. For a ruler, it is not necessary to view their subjects as individuals. Instead, Machiavelli refers to a group of subordinates. What regards the laws, taxes, and so on, Machiavelli argues that the new ruler should not change anything. He recommends preserving the old way of life that people are used to. Most people should be OK with it. People do not like changes. Keeping things as-is is said to be the best way for new rulers to establish hereditary possessions. That is a vital component of preserving the gained power.
To accomplish this objective, military people need to protect the borders of the kingdom. The diplomat supports the use of military methods to strengthen power. Naturally, this can also protect the country. The concept mentioned above implies that the ruler should be more machiavelli the prince essay and astute than his subjects. Otherwise, those who should obey might rebel. Meanwhile, subjects must protect the strong leader, fear his power, and avoid any confrontation with him. When people describe someone cunning and sly, they compare that person to a fox. He believes that a ruler should machiavelli the prince essay the qualities of a fox in order to succeed. A good and wise prince should know how to win, machiavelli the prince essay, even if the methods are not direct and just.
Honesty and sincerity are not the essential qualities for a ruler, according to the thinker. In the meantime, foxes are not the strongest animals. A lion is way more imposing and seems to have more power. Lions are often called the kings of all animals. When it comes to inspiring fear and respect, a lion is a better example for a prince. What is the best motive for the subjects to keep loyal to the rule? Should it be love or fear? Machiavelli claims that the ruler must inspire both fear and love. This might be challenging, of course. But the wisdom of any ruler is in finding that balance. According to Machiavelli, those who cannot secure their position through both love and fear should choose the one they are more confident about. In the meantime, choosing one does not exclude the other.
While using fear as the main source of power, the Prince should strive to win sympathy. If a ruler cannot make people love him, he will at least need to ensure he is not hated, machiavelli the prince essay. Another thing a prince should be an expert at is controlling the quality of the army. The soldiers should be organized and should know the rules well. Machiavelli claims that a good army reflects good laws. Sometimes fidelity of subjects is better protection for the state than a new fortress. He notes that leaders must consider the interests of the state first.
Being an expert at prioritizing is very beneficial for a ruler. The ultimate goal for Florence of that time was uniting different Italian states. Accordingly, any methods were acceptable on the way to this. But personal gains could not become the objective. While Machiavelli emphasizes the role of a strong leader, he also recommends having wise advisors. Lorenzo di Medici was not experienced enough to run the state just on his own. That was especially true for the tough period and the crisis that Florence was going through. Niccolo Machiavelli suggests how to run a state in a volatile political situation. Many recommendations imply perceiving the subjects as instruments for gaining prosperity.
In Machiavellianism, gaining power victory is the ultimate goal. Any means to reach the goal are acceptable. A present-day reader might be unpleasantly surprised at that perception, machiavelli the prince essay. However, Machiavelli lived in a different epoch.
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In , Lorenzo became the duke of Urbino. He develops a strategy for quite an authoritarian ruler. The thinker advises the Prince to modify his ruling style. He claims that combining different methods in ruling the state is more effective. This should help the Prince expand the empire and make people from all over the state loyal to him. However, at the time people achieved power either by overthrowing others or inheriting the throne. It was too early for moral and ethical considerations to play a crucial role. Democracy was not accessible at the epoch. Let us consider the tips proposed by Machiavelli in more detail. Conquering power through wars implies cruelty. Despite innocent victims, Machiavelli claims that it is an appropriate means to gain and keep power.
The thinker gives a horrible recommendation to make sure that the previous ruler has no heirs. In his essay, Machiavelli reflects on how love and fear help a ruler preserve power. Any leader needs obedience and loyalty of their subordinates. According to the author, Lorenzo should know how to make people like him and be afraid of him at the same time. That is arguably the main objective of a new ruler. While everyone is unique, Machiavelli does not focus on their differences. For a ruler, it is not necessary to view their subjects as individuals. Instead, Machiavelli refers to a group of subordinates. What regards the laws, taxes, and so on, Machiavelli argues that the new ruler should not change anything.
He recommends preserving the old way of life that people are used to. Most people should be OK with it. People do not like changes. Keeping things as-is is said to be the best way for new rulers to establish hereditary possessions. That is a vital component of preserving the gained power. To accomplish this objective, military people need to protect the borders of the kingdom. The diplomat supports the use of military methods to strengthen power. Naturally, this can also protect the country. The concept mentioned above implies that the ruler should be more artful and astute than his subjects.
Otherwise, those who should obey might rebel. Meanwhile, subjects must protect the strong leader, fear his power, and avoid any confrontation with him. When people describe someone cunning and sly, they compare that person to a fox. He believes that a ruler should possess the qualities of a fox in order to succeed. A good and wise prince should know how to win, even if the methods are not direct and just. Honesty and sincerity are not the essential qualities for a ruler, according to the thinker. In the meantime, foxes are not the strongest animals. A lion is way more imposing and seems to have more power. Lions are often called the kings of all animals. When it comes to inspiring fear and respect, a lion is a better example for a prince.
What is the best motive for the subjects to keep loyal to the rule? Should it be love or fear? Machiavelli claims that the ruler must inspire both fear and love. This might be challenging, of course. But the wisdom of any ruler is in finding that balance. According to Machiavelli, those who cannot secure their position through both love and fear should choose the one they are more confident about. In the meantime, choosing one does not exclude the other. While using fear as the main source of power, the Prince should strive to win sympathy. If a ruler cannot make people love him, he will at least need to ensure he is not hated. Another thing a prince should be an expert at is controlling the quality of the army.
The soldiers should be organized and should know the rules well. Machiavelli claims that a good army reflects good laws. Sometimes fidelity of subjects is better protection for the state than a new fortress. He notes that leaders must consider the interests of the state first. Being an expert at prioritizing is very beneficial for a ruler. The ultimate goal for Florence of that time was uniting different Italian states. Accordingly, any methods were acceptable on the way to this. But personal gains could not become the objective. While Machiavelli emphasizes the role of a strong leader, he also recommends having wise advisors. Lorenzo di Medici was not experienced enough to run the state just on his own.
That was especially true for the tough period and the crisis that Florence was going through. Niccolo Machiavelli suggests how to run a state in a volatile political situation. Many recommendations imply perceiving the subjects as instruments for gaining prosperity. In Machiavellianism, gaining power victory is the ultimate goal. Any means to reach the goal are acceptable. A present-day reader might be unpleasantly surprised at that perception. However, Machiavelli lived in a different epoch. He did not even realize how many moral and ethical topics he touched upon. Some of the suggestions are only applicable to the Florence of that epoch. Other rules can arguably be universal.
The work gives the basis for such a theory as Machiavellianism. Niccolo Machiavelli believed that he was the right person to advise the new Prince. Standards for rulers have changed over time, but in the middle ages rulers were judged by a very strict set of criteria in which rulers were meant to be feared by all and loved by none. Kings and Princes of the middle ages were not necessarily popular as they are today. Instead, they strived to be competitive and feared. Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a series of works regarding the guidelines that princes were to follow in order to be successful rulers.
He gives examples of both successful and unsuccessful princes and greatly details how their behaviors and actions made them either successful or unsuccessful. Interestingly, we are able to study these characters and find the Machiavellian aspects in all of them, even if the characters themselves are not explicitly Machiavellian rulers. Viserys Targaryen embodies very specific characteristics of the prince that Machiavelli describes. The primary example that Viserys personifies is that of a prince only concerned with war. Machiavelli explains that princes should keep their focus on war and the preparation for war in order to be a good ruler.
Viserys, as stated in the first episode of Game of Thrones, is only concerned with starting a war and recapturing the throne for himself. He knows that the only way for him to acquire power is to start a war with those currently on the throne. Every action that he carries out derives from his need to win back the throne, which he knows can only be done by obtaining a powerful army and ensuring his victory in war. Furthermore, Viserys not only acknowledges that he must prepare for war, but he also immerses himself in the study of war. We know that this is true because Viserys introduces Khal Drogo to Danaerys and describes his victories in battle.
He knows about the success of the Dothraki warriors as a whole, as well, meaning that he has been studying the leader and his society. Because of this, we know that Viserys has been preparing, at least mentally, for a victorious battle. Viserys also takes advice from Machiavelli in that he takes on the challenge of adopting a group of people that speaks a different language. Viserys does this, immersing himself in the Dothraki society along with Danaerys rather than sending her away with the warriors and staying home. He always appears interested in the Dothraki culture and the reasons for their rituals.
Specifically, he makes inquiries about the events at the wedding in the first episode, showing that he does have general interest in the Dothraki warriors and their violent rituals at the wedding receptions. While Viserys does take on these Machiavellian qualities, he seems to widely ignore most of the pertinent advice that Machiavelli gives.
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