Qualities of a Politician According to Machiavelli
Uploaded by erobinson on Apr 30, 2004
The Qualities of a Politician
Niccoló Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” he describes all the qualities that he believes a prince, or ruler, must have in order to succeed. He writes in a very concise manner, with key examples for each point. The most controversial item in his book is his clear inattention to ethics and morals. This essay will attempt to borrow from Machiavelli’s views and apply them to modern day politicians.
A Politicians Duty Concerning Military Matters
A politician’s principle knowledge and priority must be primarily military. This is to be essential if a politician wishes to maintain his position of power. Also, when the opportunity presents itself, have military knowledge over another will afford them the advantage over other politicians to rise in power. This knowledge must be apparent to the people, for if individual opulence shows through, the politician is truly lost. This knowledge must be constantly reinforced if status is to be preserved, for the best way to lose it is through unpracticed knowledge.
Thomas Jefferson retreated when Virginia came under attack by the English. This was seen as a sign of political weakness, and is a prime example of the results of not maintaining military strength. Franklin Roosevelt had long been developing a means to quickly end any opposition to him during World War II with the atomic bomb. Although it was Truman that dropped the bomb, Roosevelt exercised his military knowledge by preemptively thinking of war and strategy.
Roosevelt’s success can be attributed to the fact that he was always thinking of “what-if” situations and never let his guard down, just a politician must always be ready.
On Those Things for Which Men, and Particularly Politicians, Are Praised or Blamed
Plato talked of two worlds, the world of ideas and the world of forms. The world of ideas contains the ideals of man, how things would be in a perfect world. The world of forms is the world we live in and contain imperfect versions of the ideals in the world of ideas. He said that a wise man would recognize the world of ideas, but only a fool would believe that the any ideals could be realized. A politician must live in reality and not strive for something that is truly imagined.
With this sense of reality, a politician must be careful with the matter of generosity. It is better to be considered not generous enough than to be exceedingly generous. To...