The Question of Ends and Means

The Question of Ends and Means

A longstanding debate in human history is what to do with power and what is the best way to rule. Who should have power, how should one rule, and what purpose should government serve have always been questions, and more than once have sparked controversy and conflict. The rule of human being has placed our human need for order and structure against the human desire for freedom, and compromising between the two has never been easy. And to this day people try to consider the question about government and its role in society and particularly the question regarding "end justifying means". However, the argument has not rested solely with military powers or politicians, but philosophers as well. Three prominent voices in this debate are Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Plato, whom all had very different ideas of government's role in the lives of its people. Although Aristotle's definition of the "good" and good government differs radically from other philosophers we can apply his concept to both Plato and Machiavelli because the philosophy of ends justifying means supersede and override