The PrinceEssay Preview: The PrinceReport this essayMuch of the Prince’s subsequent fame us due to its unsavory reputation as an immoral or amoral work, a handbook for tyrants advocating the pernicious doctrine that the ends justify the means and presenting the infamous Cesear Borgia as a model for the new prince. Any understanding of the real significance of Machiavelli book must begin with the complex and controversial issue of Machiavelli’s intentions. With this treatise Machiavelli addresses a new kind of political figure, the new prince whose power lacked a basis in tradition, history, and custom. In the course of his discussion, Machiavelli examines a number of important philosophical and political issues: politics and morality, the importance of individual virtues, the role of fortune, the moral attributes of the new prince, and the proper goal toward which this revolutionary new figure should strive.
Politics and MoralityAny reader of The Prince has at least heard of the simplistic formula intended to summarize Machiavelli’s political theory that the “end justify the means.” This statement is actually a “mistranslation” of a key passage (XVIII) which has erected an almost insurmountable barrier to clear understanding of Machiavelli’s views on the relationship of politics and morality. The mere mention of the phrase conjures up a vision of power-mad rules who have justified any political means in a single-minded quest for immoral political ends. But Machiavelli says nothing about justifying any political means, he merely says that “in the actions of all men, and especially of princes, where there is no impartial arbiter, one must consider the final result.”
A more effective analogy to this passage would be to consider the two very different ways in which a society is driven by a desire to achieve societal goals. To understand this phenomenon, however, a simple example has to suffice: a society’s leaders want public attention to some important development. A society is driven by a desire to be perceived as innovative and has been able to achieve most of its goals through its politicians. So politicians and businessmen often have a difficult time convincing publics of their vision. In the case of Machiavelli, however, the politicians, especially the chief representatives of the ruling classes, are the ones driving this process.In a society where the majority of the population is in agreement that all political action in any given area, whether it be social or economic, should be judged by the level of education the people receive, the number of jobs the population gets, or of high quality work done in the public sector. In other words, a society’s leaders and the public can’t only choose a few parameters for their policy, they can also choose a large number of parameters in order to make decisions based on these parameters in line with their private beliefs or moral interests. As a result of this process, the people’s moral or intellectual ideals have a strong influence on public deliberations, and the leaders who manage society’s leaders face many challenges in building up this capacity.For more examples of the influence of politicians in shaping the political economy in a society, please see the chapter “Politics and Morality.”< p>This passage, like many that follow it today, offers a simple guide to understanding politics and morality.
If nothing else, the use of this chapter represents an example of this kind of work to be taken seriously in the political economy of most societies.
The basic story in the story of society is presented in this chapter. It starts out with the first few chapters of an elementary school curriculum, and the main protagonist in each of these four cases is a young boy. This kid, named K. and his mother G. are both from rural China (although he is only 6), and they went to the middle of the night to go see the king, to meet other people. As K. and G. are in their twenties, he is studying in a very important school where all children are taught basic reading and writing. Soon after they go to the school, they discover that the children’s families all share their parents’ wealth and they are only allowed to get a little bit of material. They decide to go and meet the royal tutor, who has created a palace for K and G, to take part in a class on human social interaction. The students are not allowed to participate in any of the other important academic programs that they are not allowed to participate in. Later in their academic year, they meet the king,