A Critical Review Of The Prince - Junior, Beijing Foreign Studies University - Book Review

1550 words - 7 pages

Counterarguments and Inconsistencies in The Prince
——A Reader-Friendly Review
The Prince is a political treatise written by Machiavelli in 1513 when Italy became the center of intense political conflict. Machiavelli composed the pamphlet as a practical guide for ruling and hoped to gain himself an advisory position in the government by dedicating the book to the ruler of Florence. The major theme addressed in the book can be concluded as ends justify means, which gives itself a controversial place in history. The merits of the book, including the separation of politics and ethics for the first time in history and offering a rational, utility-oriented perspective in analyzing politics has been well documented by critics. As far as I agree with the brilliance of the book, I would like to offer some counterarguments concerning how to rule a nation and identify some inconsistencies in the book.
Consisting of 26 chapters, the book can be divided into four parts. The first three chapters describe the book’s scope in which Machiavelli states that the book is only concerned with autocratic regimes and defines various types of principalities. The second part, beginning from Chapter IV to Chapter XIV, constitutes the heart of the book. Machiavelli discusses a variety of issues concerning the running of a state including the advantages and disadvantages of various paths to power, how to acquire and hold new states, how to deal with internal insurrection, how to make alliances and how to maintain strong military power. Moving on to the third part, Machiavelli discusses in detail about the qualities of a ruler from Chapter XV to Chapter XXIII. The underlying view guiding the discussion is that noble qualities result in bad government. For rulers, acting in accordance with virtue is detrimental to the state. He should embrace vicious acts for the good of the state, and be adjustable. For example, rulers should be mean concerning money, for it avoids poverty. They should be a mixture of lions and foxes, for lions have strengths and foxes know how to spot traps. Also, they need not to keep their words as situations change. The important thing for rulers is the appearance of virtue instead of true virtue. At the end of the book, Machiavelli puts the discussion in a specific historical context: Italy’s disunity. He analyzes the failure of past rulers and finishes the book with an impassioned belief that only Lorenzo de’Medici can restore Italy’s glory. The book is most celebrated for its groundbreaking separation of politics and ethics, opening the inquiry for a new field called political science. Nevertheless, the book is highly controversial and enjoys a mixed reputation in history.
Despite its contrasting reputation, the content of the book, with its innovative ideas, deserves a second look. Without doubt, Machiavelli is a realist who views politics with vision and argues with reason and rationality. However, one can still offer some counterarguments and spo...

More like A Critical Review Of The Prince - Junior, Beijing Foreign Studies University - Book Review

A Book Review- ‘the Dream Of Delhi As A Global City’ - La Trobe University - Review

1122 words - 5 pages ... BOOK REVIEWS ‘The Dream of Delhi as a Global City’ Author name: Veronique D.N Dupont International Journal of Urban and Regional Research Volume 35.3 May 2011 533–54 This article is about the capital city of India, Delhi. The author, Veronique D.N Dupont’s area of research is urban and socio-spatial dynamics of large emerging metropolis. In her work, ‘The Dream of Delhi As A Global City’ (International Journal of Urban and Regional Research; Vol ...

50 Cent Book Review, Detailed Review On The Book Including A Speech. - Grade 10 - Book Review

519 words - 3 pages ... This divesting yet ultimately redemptive story accented with drawings and photographs making it a natural successor. 5o cents book playground speaks about adolescent and teenage life, and how he was affected by bullying. He explores this topical issue by sharing some of his own experiences in this fiction zed story. His aim was to reach out to us and show us how bullies are created and that there is hope to overcome it. The story is narrated ...

Essay The Upside Down Kingdom Book Review - Religious Studies - Book Review

1672 words - 7 pages ... 6 Book Review Donald B. Kraybill author of The Upside-Down Kingdom Savanah Morin Life of Jesus Professor Hudson May 10th, 2017 This is a book review of author Donald B. Kraybill’s book The Upside-Down Kingdom. In this review I will give a summary of the book I will also be giving my interpretation of the books major divisions which are; the kingdom of God, Detours around Jesus and Temptations with an explanation of the symbolism that is ...

A Critical Analysis Of A Review Of The Film 'I Am Sam'

636 words - 3 pages ... James Berardinelli's film review of 'I am Sam' is a considerably biased outlook on an otherwise monumental film with dazzling performances by Sean Penn and Michelle Pfiefer. Berardinelli is convinced that this film was just 'tear jerker' that was created with a sole purpose to win or at least be a nominee for the Oscars. Berardinelli is unenthusiastic and sometimes sarcastic tone add to his cynical opinion of this film.This critic claims that ...

The Patriot - Critical Film Review

1271 words - 6 pages ... contains well written script and exciting battle scenes. It is fairly correct about the time period, though the creative license given to Hollywood allowed multiple historical inaccuracies, including details of slavery during the time period, the main character's life, specific battles and the French's participation.As mentioned, the movie is loosely based on Francis Marion, a war time hero. The movie shows him as a widower with seven children, a ...

A Separate Peace Book Review

448 words - 2 pages ... A Separate Peace is a novel about two boy's lives and how they evolve during the course of WWII. The story was written by John Knowles, who also left home to attend a school at the age of 15. The story involves many instances in which the barriers between friendship and rivalry are cited. One of the main characters of the story, Phineas, often demonstrates that it is important to be yourself and try to make the best out of a situation whenever ...

The Lost Letters Of Pergamum Book Review - NOBTS New Testament - Book Review

1123 words - 5 pages ... A Book Review of The Lost Letters of Pergamum By Jeffrey Basford Longenecker, Bruce W. The Lost Letters of Pergamum: A Story from the New Testament World. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, a Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2016. Dr. Bruce W. Longenecker currently serves as professor of early Christianity at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He began his time at Baylor University in 2009 having previously taught at St Andrews University ...

Critical Review Of The Meanings Of Lesbian And Gay Pride Day - Research - Review

1745 words - 7 pages ... discussion, such as ideas of communitas, authenticity and symbolism. The authors gathered research in the form of observation and interviews of 44 attendees over a five year period from 1993 to 1997, to support their discussion. CRITICAL REVIEW & EVALUATION: In order to fully critique this article, it was necessary to research the expertise and background of the authors. Steven M Kates, at the time of publication of this article (2001), was a ...

Critical Book Review - The Cheese And The Worms - Western History - Assignment

1059 words - 5 pages ... Assignment 2: Critical Book Review - The Cheese and the Worms The Cosmos of a Sixteenth Century Miller by Carlo Ginzburg Translated by John and Anne C. Tedeschi (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013) _____________________________________________________________________ The Cheese and the Worms written by Carlo Ginzburg in 1980. In the book, he narrates a story about insignificant miller from the province of Friuli, Italy in the 1500s ...

The Final Four Book Review

468 words - 2 pages ... and all of the players leave everything on the court and fight their hardest to win the biggest game of their lives. So many clutch shots are made in this game, and so many crazy and awkward plays are made in this book. One of the most important themes in the book is if you work hard and believe that you will succeed and accomplish one of your lifetime goals it can definitely happen. Everyone is just a kid from somewhere trying to ...

The Advantage - Lencioni Book Review - Shippensburg / Entreprenuership - Book Review

1319 words - 6 pages Free ... , and Reinforce Clarity. Each of the parts is broken down into sub categories for achieving what the author calls complete organizational health. The first of the four parts is, Build a cohesive team. This section of the book is broken down into five behaviors and that is mixed in with six core suggestions for achieving those behaviors. The five behaviors consist of: Building trust, Mastering conflict, Achieving Commitment, Embracing Accountability ...

The Diary Of A Madman Review/summary - The University Of Texas At Austin/ Russian Science Fiction - Review/summary

887 words - 4 pages ... The Diary of a Madman by Nikolai Gogol Reviewed by J.C. At the very start of ​The Diary of a Madman​ by Nikolai Gogol, it begins to look like it is a simple retelling of everyday situations and events experienced by a main character, Aksenty Ivanovich Poprishchin. Right away the storyline becomes obvious that Poprishchin has an average lifestyle as an office worker that is among a distinct amount of typical people from middle to upper class ...

Jane Addams: Book Review Of A New Conscious And An Ancient Evil - University Of Regina Hist 400 - Assignment

1062 words - 5 pages Free ... 1 A Sensitive and Fragile Threshold: Jane Addams’s A New Conscience and an Ancient Evil Joshua Switzer 200337589 Dr. Dawn Flood HIST 333 4 4 A New Conscience and an Ancient Evil written at the turn of the twentieth century features Jane Addams, the founder of the socially and culturally philanthropic Hull-House, as the antagonistic narrator of a longstanding gender-based issue that augments with the growth of the “Windy City”. This “social evil ...

World Price Of Home Bias Critical Review - Finance Waikato - Review

2231 words - 9 pages ... 410 critical review: The world price of home bias Cost of capital refers to cost of equity capital. Control for traditional risk proxies, country-specific characteristics and availability of market substitutions. Measure home bias by looking at how domestic mutual funds in different countries allocate their equity portfolios between domestic and foreign stocks. Analysis would be more accurate if they were based on individual and institutional ...

First Day Of The Blitz Book Review - History - Essay

1446 words - 6 pages ... Review of Professor Peter Stansky's Book The First Day of the Blitz: September 7, 1940 HISTORY 2990 Section 001 Professor Michael Silvestri John Gasque March 7, 2018 On September 7, 1940 Adolf Hitler ordered the German Luftwaffe to rain bombs down on the city of London in the hopes that he could forcefully compel Great Britain to surrender or want to negotiate peace. Within a mere twelve hours, the Luftwaffe had killed over 400 people and more ...