Ruler and Subject

Paper Summary:

This paper studies Machiavelli's logic in his work "The Prince". The paper thoroughly reviews the story and analyzes its moral imperative. The paper also attempts to extrapolate lessons that relate to leadership for the general public. The author's aim is to show that "The Prince" can be applied to leaders today to increase the efficacy of their rule. The paper focuses on benefits of preemption, judicious use of force and finding innovative ways to get the people to accept and embrace your rule.

From the Paper:

"In such a way, Borgia had managed to circumvent the problems of attaining a state through his own force and he thwarted ill fortune by observing the tendencies of the people who lived there. He studied their sentiments and acted in such a way as to use them to his advantage. He sent a cruel and merciless dictator to rule in his stead to clean up the province, then executed him so as to appear to the public to be the benevolent prince. The hard work had been done for him, and he was able to seem like he had nothing to do with their earlier oppression. It was the ideal solution, and in Machiavelli's mind, a great example of using innovative measures with respect to the "people" to avoid the traditional problems associated with the getting and keeping of a state."

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