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Essay / The Power of Machiavelli's Prince - 858
The Power of Machiavelli's Prince These days, it is politically impossible to commit to writing a “training guide” for leaders. There are countless critics of any position or strategy a leader might adopt. Consequently, any “training” must take place behind closed doors, away from the prying eyes and ears of the media or the public. But this was not always the case. Nicolas Machiavelli had the courage to give the leaders of his time a practical guide. In this book, The Qualities of a Prince, we are given a point-by-point description of what a ruler must do to effectively rule his country. Machiavelli explains that, because leadership is (obviously) a position of command, “[war] is the only profession that benefits the one who commands. » (p. 33) He goes on to say that, to ensure peace, a leader must always be ready for war. He cites a multitude of past, present and even fictional examples of military leaders ruling peaceful countries. He was, however, writing for the leaders of a heavily taxed and war-torn region. His Italy was constantly attacked by French and Spanish soldiers, and at the same time attacked from within (the Medici family, Italy's current ruling family) by high taxes that financed the wars. His Qualities are considered by some to be the best manual for getting a country out of a bad situation, similar to the one in which Italy found itself. This work was not necessarily intended for a country already at peace. The leader's cruelty described in Qualities would almost surely cause dissension among the people of this peaceful country. Machiavelli chose many important points to make in his discussion of the necessity of military prowess. A leader must “…learn the nature of the terrain” (p. 36) he is supposed to protect. Machiavelli probably mentions this because the Medici were unaware of the advantage the French and Spanish gained by conquering the mountainous regions of northern Italy. Militarily, heights constitute a highly sought-after advantage. The country's leaders could not in any way know about lands that no longer belonged to them and therefore could no longer see the advantages and disadvantages. What they must do now is acquire all the knowledge about the land they have left, so as not to lose it..