Machiavelli's the Prince

¶ … Prince by Machiavelli [...] what Machiavelli believes are the qualities of the best rulers and of the best states. It will also look at the questions: Why does he support these qualities? Why do they need to have such qualities? Do you think he's right? If so, pick a good ruler and show that he (or she) has these qualities. If you don't agree, choose a counterexample and do the same. Machiavelli's work "The Prince" illustrates how power and those who wield it have not changed throughout the centuries.

Power has always corrupted, and those who wield it tend to be those most easily corruptible. This is easily evident in the modern conflict between the United States and Iraq. Each state believes the other is corrupt and led by a corrupted and corruptible leader, capable of using deadly force against its enemies. These problems seem to have plagued nation-states for all time, and show no sign of elimination in our lifetime.

As Machiavelli so astutely noted, "men gladly change their masters, thinking to better themselves; and this belief causes them to take arms against their ruler; but they fool themselves in this, since with experience they see that things have become worse." This seems especially notable during the current conflict between Iraq and the United States, and poses a question to the reader; will things be better or worse because of the impending war with the Middle East? THE PRINCE The Prince" is probably one of Machiavelli's best-known works.

He wrote it in 1513 to gain favor with the Medici family, actually the ruling "princes" of Italy at the time. He also wrote it to urge them to fight the "barbarians" who continually invaded Italy during his lifetime, thus tuning it into the "battleground of Europe." However, the book did not gain him favor or a place in the Medici's powerful political domain, as he had hoped. In fact, the book was not published until at least 15 years after he wrote it, which occurred after his death.

Machiavelli skillfully illustrates the many uses of power often throughout the book - this is one of his central themes and reasons for writing "The Prince." He hopes to show the Medici princes how to be better, more powerful rulers, so they can overcome the countries that are continually attempting to take over Italy has their own, such as France. He refers to the power of the beast and the man, and how to use that power effectively.

This can also refer to sexual power, which can also contain elements of both beast and man. Advising princes how to rule he states, You must know, then, that there are two methods of fighting, the one by law, the other by force: the first method is that of men, the second of beasts; but as the first method is often insufficient, one must have recourse to the second. It is therefore necessary for a prince to know well how to use both the beast and the man.

He also speaks to rulers of placing all their faith in fortune, and how that is an idea that can lead to ruin.

"I am certainly convinced of this: that it is better to be impetuous than cautious, because fortune is a woman, and it is necessary, in order to keep her down, to beat her and to struggle with her." In this interesting sideline to his views of power in the book, Machiavelli again clearly advocates sexual power, this time over women, however this reference to power can also relate to the subjects under the prince's rule.

He is advocating the use of force with them too, and that those who are bold (sexually forceful) in their use of force will win out over those who proceed coldly, (those lacking passion). Thus, Machiavelli not only condones violence toward women, he subtly equates power to sexual prowess and the ultimate domination of subjects of the state.

The author does not dispute the fact that sexual power exists; he simply sees it used as a means of power and force, to win out against a weaker opponent, whether it is an opposing army, a rival business, or a woman.

Machiavelli certainly has his own ideas about power, the state, and why the best rulers are successful and popular with their people, and he makes them exceedingly obvious in "The Prince," which is one of the things that has made it such a popular and controversial book throughout history. His work in this book has been read, studied, vilified, and exalted by historians and experts, and in fact were placed on the "Index of Prohibited Books" in Italy in 1559.

Professors in many modern business classes often use the book as a representative of the modern corporation and how power can corrupt powerful business people, as well as powerful politicians. (The continuing scandals with Enron and World.com, just to name two, seem to corroborate this view of corruption and power in modern business). In fact, some authors have restyled Machiavelli's works to help illustrate successful (and unsuccessful) management techniques, such as Gerald R.

Griffin's "Machiavelli on Management: Playing and Winning the Corporate Power Game." "The threat against your empire may be by an internal opponent within the same organization, a subordinate, a superior, or a peer, or it may be from an external opponent, another company, irate customers, former employees, or the government." How does the book relate to our modern "princes" - men who run the most powerful nations and businesses in our world today? As Griffin believes, Machiavelli's words are as relevant as they were when he first wrote them in the 16th century.

Any astute businessman can learn more about the effective running of his organization by applying Machiavelli's thoughts, beliefs, and principles to his organization. Griffin states, "[Structure and policies] established in an [organization] at its very origin, when men were still pure, no longer suit when men have become corrupt and bad." Today, power corrupts those with the most power, just as Machiavelli showed in his book.

"Badly used are those cruelties which, although being few at the outset, grow with the passing of time instead of disappearing." As with many things, Machiavelli's writings seem to point to many different problems facing our society today. They seem especially poignant when we apply them to the impending situation between the United States and Iraq. The "princes" of the two countries each represent the epitome of power and corruption that Machiavelli discusses in such detail in.