The Power of Machiavelli’s The Prince :: Machiavelli The Prince Essays

The Power of Machiavellis The Prince Nowadays, it is politic anyy impossible to commit to paper a training guide for attractions. in that respect are innumerable detractors to any possible stance or system a leader might adopt. As a result of this, in all training must take place behind closed doors, outlying(prenominal) from the prying eyes and ears of the news media or the public. But this has not ever been the case. Niccol Machiavelli was brave enough to give the leaders of his day a how-to guide. In this work, The Qualities of a Prince, we are given a point-by-point description of what a leader should do to effectively lead his country. Machiavelli explains that, because leadership is (obviously) a position of command, war is the completely profession which benefits one who commands. (p. 33) He goes on to say that, in lay out to ensure peace, a leader must always be score for war. He cites a multitude of past, present and even fictitious examples of armed forces l eaders who lead peaceful countries. He was writing, however, for the leaders of a heavy taxed, war torn area. His Italy was under constant attack from both french and Spanish soldiers, and at the same time under attack from the privileged (the Medici family, Italys current ruling family) by high taxes that funded the wars. His Qualities is considered by some to be the best manual for pulling a country out of a bad situation much like the one Italy was in. This work was not necessarily meant for a country that is already at peace. The ruthlessness of the leader described in Qualities would almost surely cause dissent among the mess of the peaceful country. Machiavelli chose many important points to bring up in his intervention on the necessity of military prowess. A leader must ask the nature of the terrain (p. 36) that he is meant to protect. Machiavelli probably discusses this because the Medicis were not aware of the advantage that the french and Spanish were gaining by co nquering the northern, mountainous regions of Italy. Militarily, higher ground is a much sought after advantage. The leaders of the land could in no way get to know land that was no longer their own, and so, could no longer see the advantages or disadvantages of the land. What they must now do, is gain all knowledge of the land left to them, so as not to let loose it.