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Joseph Tawfik - 900182385

Seminar 1023

Response Paper – Draft 1

Machiavelli’s The Prince

The book the prince by Niccolò Machiavelli is a 16th-century political treatise that

presents ideas and guidance on how a leader can gain and maintain power, Machiavelli wrote

The Prince to serve as a manual and guidebook for rulers to help them achieve their goals.

Machiavelli illustrated the perfect characteristics that were expected to administer a country

successfully, among them generosity, compassion, and dependability. He perceived that keeping

up the goals in all conditions set an unattainable standard and that discretion in how they were

applied was essential. In the present political atmosphere, there are a few leaders who may have

a couple of Machiavellian qualities and it merits having a look at a couple to perceive how they

fit into the sixteenth-century model.

The first leader to follow some of Machiavelli’s ideas on how to gain and maintain power

is Donald Trump (United states president) He fits some of the Machiavellian criteria, yet misses

the mark on others. He's been a tremendously effective businessman with driven undertakings

and exchanging on his name and superstar, at the same time acting to the greatest advantage of

his bank balance. There’s also reports of his harassing in business, a character characteristic he

carried with him to the administration; he would state the end legitimizes the methods. So, he fits

that Machiavellian criterion in that area. Trump also doesn’t mind a bit of dishonesty when it

suits his purpose or goal, and he certainly doesn’t apologize for telling any lies, that help boost

his goals at the end. On the not really Machiavellian side is Trump's failure to appoint
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appropriate advisers and second hand men as mentioned by Machiavelli and he largely surrounds

himself with his own family. This may increase his confidence and self-esteem, however it's in

opposition to the beliefs of Machiavelli, which expresses that a great leader ought to be

sufficiently keen to depend on the skill of expert guides, even when their perspectives may

conflict with his own. Trump fails on that account: as it appears to be quite hard to hold a job in

his administration as he is incredibly impulsive and reckless with the dismissals of members in

his administration.

Another famous leader who follows some of Machiavelli’s philosophies is the President

of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte. Rodrigo embraced at least one element of Machiavellianism,

his zero-tolerance policy on drugs and other misconducts is out and out merciless. Residents are

essentially shot gangland-style – no capture, no trial, just execution. Machiavelli inscribed that it

is better to be loved than feared, but if a choice has to be made it is “far safer” to be feared than

loved, and under Duterte’s leadership this philosophy prevails as Duterte is not as popular with

the Philippines, but no one would dare to cross him as he is feared.

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, also shares a lot in common with Machiavelli’s

ideas, Machiavelli writes, “a principality is brought about either by the common people or by the

nobility” and Putin is incredibly popular with the people of Russia. Furthermore, Putin displays

Machiavellian aspects in regards to deception. Machiavelli states “great princes are those who

have cared little for keeping their promises” as Putin often is lying or deceptive to achieve his

goals and gain more power as stated by the English prime minster (David Cameron) in 2014.

Machiavelli explains how a prince’s actions can lead to him being despised or hated, and Putin

avoids this through the intelligent speeches he gives about the power of the Russian people and
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also through the use of visual propaganda, as he uses a lot of modern visual media in his favor

for the specific purpose of influencing attitudes among the Russian population.

On the other hand, Machiavelli’s advice did not work out for some world leaders as they

failed to apply it successfully. One example is Hitler, who failed to understand a lot of

Machiavelli’s words, as he misinterpreted the quote “It's better to be feared than loved if you

cannot be both”, what Machiavelli meant was taken on a broader basis, the idea is that fear is

simpler to maintain for a ruler than love, which can be indecisive. The key is to always avoid

being hated, which is when people can really turn against you, and that is apparent to what

eventually happened to Hitler as his own people turned against him, even trying to assassinate

him on 2 occasions.

All things considered, Machiavelli accepts that one's ability controls half of his life and

the other half is controlled by fortune. So as to be a compelling leader, a prince must not turn out

to be excessively dependent on favorable luck and must conquer any difficulties that emerge by

utilizing his own abilities. Moreover, the ruler must be able to anticipate bad fortune so as to be

prepared to combat it when it arrives. Additionally, a ruler should really adore and be ethical to

his nation. He should adore his nation enough in order to be eager to utilize certain indecencies,

for example, cruelty, frugality, and deception. He should be feared and respected by the general

population yet he should guarantee that he isn't hated. Machiavelli accepts that if a leader or a

ruler were to follow the entirety of his suggestions and advices then that leader would definitely

have the option to achieve and maintain eminence power.