Book review on Machivelli's The Prince.
According to Niccolo Machiavelli, "it is much safer to be feared than loved because...love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails" (Machiavelli 166), In his book, The Prince, Machiavelli demonstrated his point of view about how to gather and maintain power by a political figure. In his book, he discussed the different types of states, armies, conduct of a prince, behavior of the prince and the current political situation in Italy. In the prince, Machiavelli also mentioned Medici Family in his book. One of the reason Machiavelli wrote the book was to impress Lorenzo De Medici. Machiavelli was intended to use this book as his cover letter to help Medici family to reconquer Florence. I really enjoy reading this book.
De Principatibus / II Principe (The Prince), Niccolo Machiavelli, c. 1532
I like this book is because the author had a creative view of using fear to gain political power. Also, he used strong supports evidence to illustrate his point. For example, he mentioned: Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by the sense of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are; and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion." (Machiavelli 89) I cannot agree more with this statement. It is so powerful for viewer to relate. He published his book in 1532, I still can relate to this statement in 2020. That is one of the reason I love about this book. Another reason I like about this book is it is very objective. Machiavelli was aware of the advantage and disadvantage of using love or fear for a prince. He said: And here comes in the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. 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.." (Machiavelli 152). He didn't criticize being a generous and loving prince, but because of the human nature, it is safer to let citizen to be feared.
Niccolo Machiavelli, Political theory, published by The school of life on 06/19/2015
As an art history student, I can relate to Machiavelli's book. I see he listed examples from the past. He used historical context and examples to prove his points of how to be a great prince. Also, I think this book is a great leadership and management book. From his book, business owners/ managers can learn to become a leader. A leader should have a clear employee manual. Also, a leader should create a procedure for her/his team to follow and to accept people's advice and innovative ideas. I think Machiavelli's The Prince, is a great book for people who wants to become a leader. Like he said: he who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command." (Machiavelli 225) In this book, he is giving great advice on how to command.
work citation:
Machiavelli, Niccolo, The Prince, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2019
The school of Life, POLITICAL THEORY - Niccolò Machiavelli, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOXl0Ll_t9s, access 27 Sept. 2020.
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