This author, Machiavelli, has ‘sold his soul to the devil’. What he suggests is evil and tempts the reader not to be moral. His advice must be resisted. Machiavelli presents various strategies in which a prince can achieve success. Machiavelli asserts that a prince cannot be good at all times (Adams 797). Any prince who wants to remain in power must learn how to deal with rivals. The position of Machiavelli is immoral and does not reflect a democratic society. Machiavelli advocates for the killing of opposition leaders in a political system. I believe that such thoughts can encourage leaders to practice dictatorship. Furthermore, Machiavelli asserts that human beings should avoid being generous. He states that the non-generous people can challenge the authority of a generous prince and take away power.
Machiavelli argues that a prince should be a miser, or greedy (Adams 798). In particular, if a prince wants to preserve the property of citizens and avoid poverty, he must be greedy or a miser; these are the qualities of a prince that keeps him in power. However, I believe that greed can motivate current leaders to be corrupt and exploit the resources of the citizens. Machiavelli’s ideas on being greedy can lead to massive exploitation of taxes collected by the citizens. In addition, Machiavelli states that a prince must be cruel so that the citizens become united and loyal to his authority. I believe that cruelty is immoral and cannot be used in the modern democratic world. Machiavelli’s ideas have been misused by readers and political leaders who want to remain in power for several decades. In dictatorship, leaders kill their political rivals to exercise their cruel nature.
Machiavelli asserts that a prince must be feared, but not loved (Adams 799). This is an immoral argument and a belief that can motivate leaders to engage in immoral leadership styles. Political leaders can be motivated to use military power to impart fear in opposition leaders and citizens. I believe that a leader should be loved, but not feared. Love for the prince represents good will necessary in leadership. However, Machiavelli misadvises leaders by his belief that it is not easy to overthrow a feared leader, but it is easy to overthrow a loved leader. Such arguments cannot be relevant in modern democracy, where the rule of law prevails. Machiavelli believes that cruelty and dishonesty are necessary in leadership. I believe that such thoughts can lead to immoral practices such as corruption.
In conclusion, I believe that a leader should be merciful, but not cruel. Cruel leaders have always been associated with dictatorship and lack of respect of human rights. Cruel leaders have led to revolutions because citizens are not satisfied with the services provided such leaders. I believe that mercy is an important part of leadership. Leaders should be merciful to their citizens. Merciful leaders also earn respect from all citizens and can continue to rule throughout their term without challenges. On the idea of being feared than loved, I believe it is immoral for leaders to device strategies that can make them feared, but not loved. It is also immoral to think of strategies that can instill fear among the citizens. Furthermore, strategies that can instill fear will be based on immoral practices such as lack of respect to human rights and freedoms.
Works Cited
Robert M. Adams (ed), From The Prince (1513), a book on statecraft written for Giuliano de Medici (1479-1516). 1977. Print
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