Machiavelli, More, and Richelieu all at one point or another occupied a high post in their respective governments: Italy, England, and France; from such a vantage point, or rather in the case of Machiavelli after descending from office, each identified the ills existent in his given state and derived his own remedy for such ills. However, the efforts of Machiavelli and More proved less fruitful in the short run than did Richelieus; while Richelieu raised the state of France under Louis XIII to a condition of greatness through the elimination of internal strife and discord which had for so long plagued the nation and through the advocacy of increased involvement in the international realm, his two predecessors in their renowned works, The Prince, Discourses on Livy, and Utopia, made a number of espousals concerning certain desirous reforms which would prove extremely influential in the future and throughout the world, but which would fail to be adopted as remedies for the immediate concerns which fostered them. Italy, and Florence itself, the birthplace and residence of Niccolo Machiavelli had endured violent political and social upheavals throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 1440s the social balance which had permitted the germination of much of Renaissance thought a few decades prior was already beginning to fall into decay as a result of heavy wartime taxation; Florence had been forced to keep Spanish held Naples and Milan at bay for years and consequently found herself lacking in funds to continue such a defense. The Florentine military was composed primarily of mercenaries who proved both a costly and not necessarily loyal force. The increasing costs incurred by warfare inevitably led to a centralized state led by the Medicis that could more readily generate and amass the necessary revenues; however, the outward trappings of a republican form of government were preserved.
The Essay on Machiavelli And Richelieu Power Prince State
"You must know there are two ways of contesting, the one by the law, the other by force; the first method is proper to men, the second to beasts; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is necessary to have recourse to the second. Therefore it is necessary for a prince to understand how to avail himself of the beast and the man " (The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli pg. 62). ...
The Medici maintained their dominance of the Florentine Republic until1494 when Piero d Medici was ousted from office. The ostracization of Piero by his Florentine counterparts was in direct correlation to the invasion and capture of Naples from Spanish control by the French King Charles VIII. In 1494 on route to Naples the French took Pisa, Florence, and Rome without conflict; however, Pieros surrender of Pisa, which left Florence vulnerable, provoked a fierce rebellion in Florence putting an end to Medici rule there for the time being. Despite such unrest the Dominican Friar Girolamo Savonarola who sought to create in Florence a new Jerusalem restored the Republic; regardless of his good intentions Savonarola made multitudous enemies, the most dangerous being Pope Alexander VI. He vehemently criticized Alexanders blatant grabs for political power throughout Italy and contended that he was in fact the anti-Christ; in reaction Alexander excommunicated him and threatened to do the same to his followers. In 1498 Savonarola was charged with heresy, hanged and burned in the Palazzo della Signoria.
Factions that had opposed his rule won civic elections in the same year and took control of the Republic. Soderini became ganfaloniere for life in 1502 and the Great Council confirmed Machiavelli as second chancellor. Meanwhile Charles VIIIs invasion of Italy proved an utter disaster; by 1495 the Spanish had expelled the French and the only long- term effect of the invasion was to permanently involve the Hapsburgs of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire in Italian politics. Yet another French invasion in 1499 created increased disunity in Italy by causing the reformation and development of new alliances. In addition, Pope Julius II, like his predecessor, sought to expand papal political and temporal power over all of central Italy. Soderini and Machiavellis Republic was destroyed by a Spanish invasion of Florentine territory in 1512 which resulted in Soderinis exile and Machiavellis dismissal; the Medicis reemerged into this political void and once again took their former positions as Florentine princes. Disenchanted by the failure of his ideal republic Machiavelli adopted a cynical attitude towards human nature and mans potential for goodness.
The Essay on The Prince Machiavelli
What is Machiavelli's view of human nature? While reading The Prince, I have come to a conclusion that Machiavelli demonstrates a view of governing a state that is so different from that of humanists of his time thought. The humanists of Machiavelli's time believed that an individual had a lot to offer to the well being of the state and should be able to help in whatever way necessary. Humanists ...
He asserted that the political upheavals of the 16th century and the voraciousness of the Italian political elites appetites for power made his democratic republic in which good laws maintain order an impossibility. Viewing the world as it was, and taking into account all of its harsh realities he composed The Prince in 1512; in The Prince he set forth guidelines by which an absolute ruler must abide in order to secure control over a state, particularly one prone to factions and disunity as Italy was during the 16th century. Nevertheless, despite his apparent dismissal of his democratic ideals in The Prince Machiavelli maintained, in his Discourses on Livy, the hope that in the future the Italian peoples as a whole would reform their institutions and cultivate a strong public spirit, restoring the Roman Republic. In the meanwhile, however, observing that fortune was in favor of an absolutist regime he attempted to curry favor with the Medicis by affording them a political handbook useful in the real world, not simply that of the idealist or moralist. In his Prince Machiavelli adopts a very secular approach in harmony with Renaissance thought as a means of remedying disunion; he argued that a prince must create and follow only those policies which are harmonious with the given circumstances; he asserts that men prosper so long as fortune and policy are in accord, and when there is a clash they fail(82).
Likewise the corruption of the Florentine citizenry by their wealth and international events had made 1512 unreceptive to his idealistic republic and as a result it had failed. According to Machiavelli the ends justified the means; whatever form of government or whatever extremes were necessary to preserve the public order and provide unity he advocated their adoption.
The Essay on Machiavelli Morally Good
The Right Thing To Do, Is not Always The Right Thing To Do Some say that if one completes his / her studies at the University level without analyzing and understanding Machiavellis work and theories, then that person has not fully utilized the college experience. Machiavelli, by some, is said to be one of the greatest theorists and philosophers of all time. Most critics argue, that he ( ...
In the case of his contemporaries he felt the Medicis, in order to consolidate their control and eliminate discord, necessitated the use of force and fraud. Violence must be inflicted once for all so as to promote submission and to eradicate all enemies; so long as such actions are not frequently repeated people will then forget what it tastes like and so be less resentful(31).
Thus, while force prevented dissension, fraud could serve to further preserve peace and to satisfy the multitudes. [The] gulf between how one should live and how one does live is so wide that a man who neglects what is actually done for what should be done moves toward self-destruction rather than self-preservation. The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous. Therefore a prince who wants to maintain his rule must be prepared not to be virtuous, and to make use of this or not according to need (50) In brief, due to the corruption of society a ruler cannot be virtuous as he will be taken advantage of, rather he must simply maintain the appearance and reputation of possessing the virtues of generosity, compassion, and the like. In doing so he fools the public and promotes good will towards his reign; by feigning generosity he does not deplete his wealth and by feigning compassion he does become easily manipulated, but still receives all the related benefits. In addition a prince must be feared, but not hated; he must punish criminals and subversives, but refrain from confiscating private property or from touching his subjects women so as to avoid becoming an object of contempt (54).
In order to combat the potential of an external threat and to suppress domestic uprisings a loyal military force composed of citizens is essential; however in the former case alliances are also key, while in the latter good laws are needed to ensure the maintenance of order (39).
To protect against invasion and to permit expansion a ruler must make alliances in which he dominates his allies so as not to be at their mercy when the given conflict comes to a close. Therefore, according to Machiavelli in order to restore Italy to a unified state, given the conditions of the 16th century, a ruler must possess the qualities of the lion and the fox, that is: force and shear power coupled with stealth and the cunning to commit fraud. However, such attributes are not enough on their own as good and just laws are also necessitated in order to prevent civil unrest. Machiavellis contemporary and fellow civic humanist, the Englishman Thomas More, encountered an English state and European society in need of moral and social reform. More, like Machiavelli, although disenchanted by the state of things refused to withdraw from politics and continued to work for reform never losing sight of his idealistic moral community, or his utopia. More complained that throughout Europe a secularization of Christianity had occurred and that vanity, greed, and pride had come to dominate what Christs teachings once dominated.
The Essay on Is Globalisation a Force for Good?
Globalisation is the process by which organisations, start operating on an international scale, or develop an international influence, made possible by communication and increasing improvement in technology. Nike, McDonald, Apple are all obvious examples of globalisation. Other less obvious examples of what globalisation has brought us but we are hardly ever aware of are internet, which a lot of ...
He contended that most of [Christs] teachings [were] far at variance with modern conventions (64).
Rulers and subjects alike were in constant pursuit of material wealth and consequently, always in competition with one another creating a sharp disparity between the lifestyles of the different classes. In order to alleviate such unhealthy vanity and greed, and also the subsequent disparities resulting from acquiring material wealth, power, ….
