One of the most influential works to the study of humanities is Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince. In it, Machiavelli was a realist who wrote that princes were justified in using any means to ensure the security of their state. According to Machiavelli, it was better for princes to be feared than loved: princes had the right to act in certain ways that could be considered immoral, unlawful, or unethical.
The work became a rulebook for princes on how to acquire and maintain their power. With his emphasis on gaining power and using anything means to ensure security, Machiavelli's ideas seemed outrageous to some.
Not everyone agreed entirely with Machiavelli. One student of his, Frederick II disagreed with parts of Machiavelli's The Prince. In a large part to protect his own throne and reputation, Frederick the Great argued that not all rulers were selfish enough to do great harm or sacrifice the happiness of their subjects, even if times of despair arose. He believed that it was an injustice to categorize all rulers as corrupt when only some had abused their power.
Though the political treatise created some outrage among scholars, it has managed to transcend time and space and it nevertheless relevant today. Nearly all leaders of modern time follow Machiavelli's stance of ensuring the security of the state for survival. It is more incredible to think that Machiavelli wrote his ideas about governing back in the 1500s, in a time of great political unrest.
The original purpose of writing The Prince was for Machiavelli to gain favor and standing among nobility. Despite the fact that Machiavelli composed The Prince so long ago and with a different purpose in mind, the lasting importance of his work indicates that not even changing times has managed to change the basics of how rulers rule. Or perhaps, the lack of changing ways is due to the leaders who have the power to dictate such changes.
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