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How does political philosophy identify the good regime

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The Ends Justify the Means versus Absolutism


Machiavellis The Prince (2009) is an interesting look at what the philosopher believed to be the greatest good. He believed that in order to do good, or for a regime to be good, they must do everything they can to benefit themselves, by any means necessary. His statement, that a prince ... cannot observe all of those virtues for which men are reputed good, because it is often necessary to act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion, in order to preserve the state. (Machiavelli, 2009) accurately reflects his political philosophy. Machiavelli believed that the ends justify the means, and that if the end results were ultimately good, then the regime could go about achieving these results any way they saw fit. He believed in pragmatism instead of theoretical or virtuous actions. Though Machiavellis philosophy can seem brutal, it reflects some of the kill or be killed attitudes that surfaced in 14th and 15th century Italy, following the many family feuds that resulted from power struggles in that region. He was a product of his own time as his writings reflect, and believed that virtue was the ability to