Machiavelli’sThe Prince

Niccolo Machiavelli lived in Florence, Italy in the 1400’s. The country of Italy was divided into city-states that had their own leaders, so it was a time where great leaders were needed in order to help the development of a city-state and country. Machiavelli had a theory that man needed a leader to control them. In his book The Prince, he speaks of the perfect leader, where he basically gives the reader a how-to guide to become a successful leader. However, to understand Machiavelli’s ideas, we need to know about his beliefs and background. When asking Machiavelli weather he believed man was born good or evil, he would say that man was naturally an evil being, one that needed control. Machiavelli seems to have the idea of preparing for the worst and thinking in terms of the worst. Only a person who thinks that man is evil would think of such ways to run a government in the way that Machiavelli thought a government should be run. Machiavelli illustrates several key points, that are necessary to take to become a "successful" ruler. He explains his ideas on taking over a "free" state or republic and how to conquer and rule with the peoples loyalty and respect. In chapter six, Machiavelli gives us some insight on what he feels leadership is. A leader who really wants to achieve glory, does so by his own means and talent. Chapter seven explains that a leader should not try to buy his subjects. If a prince buys his subjects they will only temporarily be loyal. A prince needs to eliminate all his enemies at once. And chapter eight explains the level of evil that should be done in order to rise to power. He gives us clear insight of the pros and cons of obtaining power by evil means and how to use evil to benefit you. Machiavelli was a man of manipulation. Leadership is obviously a position of command, which is why Machiavelli said that,