Most Princes Apply Themself to the Arts of Wars Instead of the Good of Arts

Machiavelli: Principality and Commonwealth

Machiavelli
Life and Works
. . The Prince
. . Leadership
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Among the most widely-read of the Renaissance thinkers was Niccolò Machiavelli, a Florentine politician who retired from public service to write at length on the skill required for successfully running the country. Impatient with abstract reflections on the way things "ought" to be, Machiavelli focussed on the fashion things are, illustrating his own intensely practical convictions with frequent examples from the historical record. Although he shared with other humanists a profound pessimism virtually human nature, Machiavelli yet argued that the social benefits of stability and security tin be accomplished even in the face up of moral corruption.

In 1513 Machiavelli wrote his best-known piece of work, Il Principe (The Prince). Dedicated to Lorenzo de' Medici, this little book offers practical advice on how to rule a city similar sixteenth-century Florence. Its over-all theme is that the successful prince must exhibit virtù [variously translated as "force," "skill," or "prowess"] in both favorable and adverse circumstances. This crucial quality of leadership is not the aforementioned every bit the virtuous graphic symbol described by ethical philosophers, since Machiavelli held that public success and private morality are entirely separate. The question is not what makes a good human being, but what makes a practiced prince.

Since all governments are either republics or principalities, Machiavelli noted, their people will exist accustomed either to managing their own affairs or to accepting the leadership of a prince. (For that reason, the safest princes are those who inherit their rule over people used to the family.) A prudent leader, yet, will be able to anticipate issues long before they actually arise, using virtù to preclude what would otherwise be peachy difficulties. Whatever vitality a onetime democracy may have, and then, Machiavelli counselled that it either be destroyed or ruled carefully by a resident prince. (Prince 5)

One of the most obvious means of doing so is by the careful use of military forces, and to this Machiavelli devoted neat attention. In fact, in a separate piece of work entitled Fifty'Arte della guerra (The Fine art of War) (1520) he offered extensive advice on the acquisition, direction, and employment of the army of the state. In The Prince he was content to distinguish types of forces which one might acquire, noting the advantages and disadvantages of each, and to emphasize that such matters are the most vital component of any prince's interest. (Prince 14)

Machiavelli'southward insistence on the practicality of his political communication is most evident in his consideration of the personality, graphic symbol, and conduct of the successful ruler. (Prince fifteen) No thing what idealistic notions are adopted as principles of private morality, he argued, there is no guarantee that other people will follow them, and that puts the honorable or virtuous individual at a singled-out disadvantage in the real world. In gild to accomplish success in public life, the ruler must know precisely when and how to practise what no good person would e'er practise.

Although private morality may residual on other factors—divine approval, personal character, or abstruse duties, for example—in public life only the praise and arraign of beau human beings actually counts. Thus, Machiavelli supposed, the ruler needs to acquire a expert reputation while actually doing whatsoever incorrect seems necessary in the circumstances. (Prince 18) Thus, rulers must seem to exist generous while spending their money wisely, appear to exist compassionate while ruling their armies cruelly, and human action with neat cunning while cultivating a reputation for integrity. Although it is desirable to be both loved and feared past 1's subjects, information technology is difficult to attain both, and of the ii, Machiavelli alleged, it is far safer for the ruler to be feared. (Prince 17)

Since the mod state is too complex to be managed past any single human, the effective ruler volition naturally need to take advisors who aid in governance. Choosing the correct people for these jobs and employing their services appropriately, Machiavelli supposed, is among the practical skills most clearly associated with good leadership. (Prince 22) A good ruler volition invariably choose competent companions who offer honest advice in response to specific questions and carry out the business of the land without regard for their private interests; such people therefore deserve the rewards of accolade, wealth, and power that unshakably secure their devotion to the leader. Ineffective leaders, on the other paw, surround themselves with flatterers whose unwillingness to provide competent advice is a marking of their princes' inadequacy.

All of this talk about practiced leadership would be pointless, of course, if homo beings do non in fact accept control over their own actions, but must constantly live at the mercy of blind fate or fortune. In the stop, Machiavelli argued that fifty-fifty if sheer luck determines the greater portion of our destinies, we tin withal take full responsibility for whatsoever remains. (Prince 25) Acknowledging the possibilities for failure, the skillful ruler does better to act boldly than to try to calculate every possible eventuality.

Discorsi (Discourses on Livy) (1531)

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Source: http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/3v.htm

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