The Prince Analytical Paper

Niccolo Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy in the 1400’s, into a time called the renaissance. At this time in Italy the nation was not really a nation at all, it was divided up into city-states. These city-states were always at war with each other, but loyal to one leader, the king. The renaissance brought instability and insecurity to Italy. Although Machiavelli's book, The Prince was written during the renaissance and in a time of instability, many of his ideas are still debated over today, and in fact still have a great impact on modern political and everyday life. The book discuses his basic beliefs of how a prince should rule. This book was not only controversial when it was published, after his death, but still to this day about the reliability of his advice concerning; love and fear, cruelty and mercifulness. He writes in his book that it is politically better, for a prince, to be feared than loved. The thought of cruelty being instilled in his people is more important then being considered merciful. A thorough investigation of The Prince proves his analysis true.

To be more concerned with being loved than feared only leads to a prince's ruin and demise. Machiavelli expresses this view in the following excerpt, "And men are less hesitant about harming someone who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared because love is held together by a chain of obligation, ...is broken on... but fear is held together by a dread of punishment which will never abandon you." Machiavelli's opinion proves accurate when compared with everyday situations concerning authority between, for example, children and their parents. A parent may choose to ask their child nicely to do something, but if that child is defiant the request many turn into a threat. The fear of punishment causes the child to act and respect his/hers parents wishes. Many authoritarian governments, both modern and past instilled fear in their subjects to keep order and loyalty. Likewise Machiavelli says, "And to treat the matter briefly, I say on the part of the conspirators there is nothing but fear, jealousy and the thought of punishment that terrifies him." Iraqi's late dictator Sadaam Hussein's all seeing secret police ensured the Iraqi people's public devotion and support. Although the use of this invoked fear in people may be considered inhumane, for Sadaam it produced the desired effect. Fear also played an important role in the dictatorship created by Joseph Stalin. He is notorious for what is known as the Stalinist Bloodbath. The Stalinist Bloodbath was a result of those who resisted his program, of changing the economic policy in Russia, from an agricultural base to an industrial one. Stalin struck fear in those who were against him by sentencing, caught, resistors to forced labor camps in Siberia that killed millions. For Stalin his plan was successful in maintaining the loyalty and order he wanted.

Past and modern rulers who were considered merciful tended to not maintain power for very long. Many were taken advantage of because of their kindness and made costly mistakes that affected their empires. Machiavelli shares this view and includes in The Prince an example of why excessive compassion hurts higher authority, ."..Scipio... armies in Spain rebelled against him: this came about from nothing other than his excessive compassion which gave to