Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Niccolo Machiavelli's famous work "The Prince" and explains that in it Machiavelli conveys his belief that to govern man efficiently, the Prince should be allowed to do whatever is necessary to achieve his goals and rule with fear rather than love and virtue. The paper goes on to show how although Machiavelli's purpose was to serve 15th century Italians, there are many modern leaders who have taken Machiavelli's maxims to heart.

From the Paper:

"I chose Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince because even though it was written in Italy in 1505, leaders and scheming people around the world are still using his message. It is important to recognize the prevalence of Machiavelli's ideas of fear and control in modern Western civilization. An evident example of Machiavellian control was former President George Bush's Guantanamo Bay prison, wherein the prisoners were found guilty until proven innocent. This ideal is clearly stated in The Prince: "It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope" (Machiavelli). Not only did Machiavelli contribute greatly to the widening spectrum of political thought at the time but his words and theories still circulate today in our modern Western society."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Kreis, Steven. "Niccolo Machiavelli, 1469-1527." The History Guide: Lectures on Modern European Intellectual History. March 11, 2007
• Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. Trans. W.K. Marriott 1908. 1515.
• Nederman, Cary. "Niccolo Machiavelli." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. September 13, 2005.
• Parker, Philip M. "Machiavillian." <http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/MACHIAVILLIAN>. 2009.
• Warburton, Nigel, Jon Pike, and Derek Matravers. Reading Political Philosophy. London: Open University, 2000.

More papers on Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince":

• Analytical Essay # 3581 : "Machiavelli's "The Prince"
• Comparison Essay # 113072 : "Machiavelli and Hobbes"
• Analytical Essay # 124650 : "The Prince" and Modern Business"
• Book Review # 129039 : "Machiavellian Virtue in "The Prince"

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