Niccolò Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy in 1469 and became one of the most influential political theorists of his time, especially in the theory of the political approach. Machiavelli was the author of a well-known book called The Prince. This book is about more than just advice to leaders, it reflects the way a government should work. The book’s in depth explanation of how to rule doesn't completely stop there either, it explains how to acquire and maintain political power through fear. His key idea is that a leader is there to carry out the difficult decisions and it is better to be feared than loved. I believe he is accurate because his ideas reflect how politicians act in modern times such as how politicians lie to achieve their goal. Machiavelli goes on to say they don't mind how they get there, nor it is important. It is virtually impossible to be a clever politician and remain a moral person because of the fact that politicians aren't kindhearted. A ruler should only be concerned with power and success.
Machiavelli believed that fear is without question, and will remain constant”. He says it is better to be feared than be loved if you cannot be both. When I read this I think it means that since you cannot be feared and loved, then it is much safer to be feared because fear is constant. Love is breakable it is a weak chain. To Machiavelli's it means it is much safer to be feared than loved because you won't have to watch your back as much. People will be less likely to collaborate against someone they fear. So to be a supreme ruler you need to instill fear, meaning fear is the pathway to success which makes it effective. This is seen more in dictators such as Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin than in democratically elected officials. Being an effective leader makes up for all of the fear you put into people and provides a successful outcome. Being nice will get you nowhere in politics; the key is to inflict fear, but not so that you are hated because that's when they turn against you. The question remains, “Should we expect our political leaders to always be virtuous as well as effective?” Well, no because personally I think we should expect our political leader to be more effective than virtuous such as with our current President, Donald Trump. President Trump is not considered to be virtuous but he is an effective leader because he has strong ideas and is confident.
Machiavelli goes on to states “no matter what you do to stay in power it does not matter nor is...
