The Prince is a formal, in depth, documentation of various political science subjects the regarding principalities and the rise of a prince to power.
These initial writings of modern political philosophy were written by Niccolo Machiavelli, a prominent diplomat of the 16th century, in the form of candid letters to Lorenzo de Medici. The printed version of The Prince emerged after Machiavelli's death under the permission of the pope in the year 1532. Even though this is a historical masterpiece, its theories are still applicable in today’s world.In his writings, Machiavelli emphasizes the establishment of new principalities because he believed that acquiring control and power on what is new is the toughest task of a prince. His focus is evident in his brief introduction of existing principalities and the clear statement that the majority of his writings will be towards all aspects of acquiring and maintaining new principalities. His theories revolved around the diplomatic yet powerful acquisition of new principalities through the use own resources and men, and not solely on the good will or connections.
All of the introduced political theories were entwined with, what we consider historical today, events such as the ill acquisition of Milan by the King of France, Louis XII, who lost Milan as quickly as he occupied due to his underestimation of the power of its people. Another extensive example used by Machiavelli is the fall of Cesare Borgia due to is dependence on his father's connections and not the power of his own arms or strengths.The writings Machiavelli did not support suppression and tyranny, his beliefs revolved around the intelligent methods of gaining political power over new principalities, but this point will be revisited later. Machiavelli's first and foremost theory was that every prince seeking to rise to power should have a strong and rooted base consisting of effective laws and a good army that follows the prince's law, because an army that does not follow the prince's law is problematic and in some cases useless.
Another theory that he was known for enforcing was the importance of a prince reputation. Machiavelli was a strong believer in the strength of a good public image, regardless of its reality, and the power of a well-crafted reputation. As he states in the eight chapter of his book " the question wither is it better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loves. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both: but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved. "In terms tyranny and malice, I believe that although Machiavelli attempted to shy away from such antics some of his writings subliminally supported intelligent methods that may be cruel in nature.
To elaborate, cruelty committed by Cesare Borgia was justifiable in Machiavelli's eyes because he believed it was necessary in the quest of yielding public loyalty, even if it was based on fear. Other hints of cruelty supporting theories include his statement "To hold newly acquired dominions it is enough to have wiped out the family line of the prince who was ruling them."Such concepts have been implemented in recent decades and are still in effect in many countries. To add to that, it seemed to me that Machiavelli seemed to disregard morals and virtues such as honesty in political dealings. Moreover he believes that “it is necessary to know well how to disguise this characteristic and to be a great pretender and dissembler”. That is due to his belief that man was naturally deceptive and not “entirely good”.
I find such implications startling, and believe that if deceptive acts were met with equal ruthlessness a never ending cycle of deception would develop.I believe that no good can come from what lacks a moral foundation. The structure used in The Prince was in the form of instructions directed towards Lorenzo de Medici and as I have previously mentioned entwined with dense historical facts. Although the use of such a structure is foreign to individuals of this era, the writings were still comprehendible. Another interesting characteristic of the political concepts and theories presented in The Prince was their generic nature and the degree of their applicability.
Machiavelli believed that a successful prince was one that took into consideration all the elements of rising to power: a strong foundation, reputation and in some cases justifiable cruelty. There is no room for the slightest mistake in politics, and underestimating any of the previous elements can result in the fall of any prince. The Prince nicely showcases most of Machiavelli's political musings that were, and still are, effective. One could even apply such theories in the politics of daily relationships and notice success in their dealings.
