Antiqauted Ideas: Machiavelli
"A prince, therefore, must not have any other object nor any other thought, nor must he take anything as his profession but war, its institutions, and its discipline; because that is the only profession which befits one who commands
it [war] enables men of private station to rise to that position
And the first way to lose it [position] is to neglect this art;"
- The Qualities of the Prince (Machiavelli 37-38)
Sixteenth century Italy was a landscape dominated by large, independent city-states that had no unifying government. These city-states typically competed for resources, land, and power. Within these city-states themselves were families that were constantly entrenched in a battle for dominance and position. It was a dog eat dog world, where the slightest misstep or sign of weakness was cause for an enemy to pounce. From this tumultuous environment emerged a patrician by the name of Niccolò Machiavelli. Machiavelli penned a discourse titled The Prince in which he describes what he believes are the characteristics of a good leader. One of Machiavelli's most profound statements in The Prince can be summarized as this: The way to gain and maintain power is through the art of war (37-38). Even with our vastly different form of government, this idea is still used by politicians not only in the way they present themselves to the general public, but also in the way that they exercise sovereign authority. Specifically, the current presidential candidates, John Kerry and George W. Bush, will be examined.
Before the candidates are examined, the differences between the political landscape of Italy in the 1500's, and our current form of government in the United States. The most significant difference lies in the way a figure rises to power. In Italy, it was necessary to establish oneself as a noble, to fight for status using political subterfuge and one also had to rule with an iron fist using a personal army to fight their battles. The...
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