The Prince By Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1532) Essay, Research Paper

Machiavelli’s prime motive in writing

The Prince was to encourage Lorenzo the Magnificent to unite Italy. Like

many writers during the Renaissance, Machiavelli was a student of history;

this, tied to his fervent belief in an Italian nation-state, led him to

hope that Lorenzo would use his advice to liberate Italy from its host

of foreign invaders.

The modern usage of the term Machiavellian”

denotes ruthless opportunism and manipulative techniques. And, in fact,

as a practical guide for leadership, the author’s proffered advice lacks

any semblance of morality. But in the Florentine theorist’s world, morality

was in short supply. His paradigm of princehood was Prince Cesare Borgia.

Praising Borgia’s killing and despoiling of as many lords and lands “as

he could lay hands on,” Machiavelli cites this Prince as an almost perfect

archetype of bold rule: “I can find nothing with which to reproach him…

”

The influence of The Prince has been felt

deeply, even in the twentieth century, as evidenced by the actions of such

men as Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, and many other international statesmen. Political

leaders (Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan, Gordon Liddy, Oliver North, and countless

other Presidential advisers), plus endless hordes of salesmen, advertisers

and authors on managerial techniques all were ardent students of the book.