How To Maintain Power According To The Prince Of Machiavelli

How to maintain power according to the prince of Machiavelli

Power has seduced people from times before today;Just by listening to that simple word and imagining having power to govern is something that most people want with all their soul, unfortunately obtaining both benefit and authority produces unimaginable consequences.

In the book, the prince of Nicolás de Machiavelli, speaks to us in such a practical and clear way of how to acquire power. He tells us that the ruler before being loved by the people must be feared, respected, must use the force, own armies that provide security not only against other principals but also in front of the governed.

Force, violence are ideal means to ensure stability and permanence in the principality or government also express in its book, cynicism as an indispensable factor in government.

Virtues such as chastity, goodness, kindness, love, honesty, would be desirable together, at the head of a prince or ruler, unfortunately, nature does not allow them to reside in a single ruler.

A ruler has to maintain a strong image, robust in front of their governed or enemies even vices, such as greed, the prey are things that will help the prince maintain his power in his government. In this way, Machiavelli establishes that the real exercise of politics implies real situations with real men and peoples, whose behaviors, decisions and actions, generally do not necessarily respond to the moral or ethics that we are learning to live but to the laws of power;In the same way he exposes in detail the way in which the ruler must face the different situations or circumstance that are presented to him, and establishes that the main end of political practice is to successfully conserve power.

In the first chapters of the work, Machiavelli speaks, about the different classes of principalities that may exist and the way they are acquired, such as the new, the hereditary, the ecclesiastics and the mixed.

Hereditary principalities are those inherited from the family, the prince obtains the dynastic rights that give him his family lineage and tradition. Therefore, it has no major problem to govern and conserve power.

New principalities are more fragile, because they normally arise from conquests that are made from other states, and have to work hard to impose themselves and thus be able to preserve power.

The mixed principalities, become those that are not entirely new and have an added member to an old principle already possessed. These are when new territories are conquered that already had a prince, which will result in many problems and difficulties to govern.

Machiavelli also talks about people, of which one must take care of which one day could betyour book. Most of these facts, which are used as examples, are situations, most, in Italy, Spain and France.

Power is considered one of the areas of realization of the human spirit, and the political phenomenon seen as the supreme expression of historical existence that involves all aspects of life, is the conception that underlies the dissertations of the Prince

For Machiavelli the political ends were inseparable from the "common good". The good of the State does not subordinate to good the individual or the human person in any case, and its end is absolutely above the particular purposes for more sublime that are considered

In chapter IV he mentions that there are principalities that can be governed by two modes. The first is that a prince assisted by some of his slaves who helps him governs, in this way has more authority, because there is none to recognize another than him by authority;And if he obeys another it is only because he is his minister and employee. The second consists of a cunning prince to govern by barons, who have their position for seniority in the family and not by the grace of the prince;And that has themselves and governed that those who recognize as their lords.

In chapter v non says that there are governments of cities with its own laws before their conquest and, in this scenario, the author points out that there are three ways to conserve this type of governments, such as: take them to ruin, go to livewith them and leave them with their laws, but creating control in the tax and judicial field, in order to preserve faithfulness and assume control of power.

Politics is therefore the art of the prince or ruler in terms of such. And the prince, as a conqueror and owner of power, as incarnation of the State, is in principle or by accident exempt from all moral normal. The important thing is that you have natural conditions to ensure the conquest and possession of power.

For Machiavelli the supreme reason is nothing but the reason for state. The State (which identifies with the prince or ruler), constitutes a ultimate goal, an end in itself, not only independent but also opposed to moral order and ethical values, and in fact located, above them, as an absolute instance.

In the era of Machiavelli, a sovereignty fault of ethics and morals that entails the Renaissance crisis, although it is not surprising due to the little practicality in its sovereigns could be reflected. How could you keep the durability of your throne if you bought it or was given to you? o Based on tyranny? Although there were bad sovereigns, there were also their counterpart, which through their own fortune came to power.

Now, although it is true that there were tyrants kings with long durability over time, everything obtained by force generates resentment in citizenship. In the opposite case of the election of the people, and here the modern ideal of governing is covered.

Machiavelli says that a prince must be cunning in the positive aspects and part of this cunning consists of the study of previous governments that were failed. Because there is no better thing, than learning from the mistakes that others make, precisely to be cautious and not commit the same erros.

Referring to the people a very effective strategy proposed by Machiavelli, it is in which the prince must live with the people, that is, to live the reality of the people.

Because to conserve a government, harmony with the people will be necessary especially in war periods.

A prince, when governing he has to manage them to weaken those who have a lot of power and that can cause you problems in your mandate. Another thing that Machiavelli wants to see in your prince, in distrust of abroad, and preferably be careful in foreign penetration about your state.

Because it has already been seen throughout history, the ruin of many governments because of foreign invasions. A prince, as part of the virtues he must have is distrustful, that is, not to trust anyone, and have a good eye when choosing their friends. In addition, a prince must always be worthy of an example to follow and first of all to respect.

Something that deserves mention, and also always take it into account to preserve power, is the management of laws. Many times when a prince conquers a new state, he will encounter discontent people for his conquest, and the only thing these people expect from the new government are bad things. And what better opportunity can a prince have, so that the discontent people trust him, such as showing them that who expected badly brings them well.

The good that the prince can provide can be improving laws that are focused on the reality of the people. As I said, the attitudes that a prince shows when the fruit or drought of his government will be.

So, the prince is like a futuristic vision for the government of a new prince to consolidate the different situations. Most of this vision is exposed in all ways in which a prince must act before his government. But the lack of ethics is seen in much of Machiavelli’s advice. Since Machiavelli says "whoever wanted to be always good, will be ruined in the midst of so many who are not good". So in his policy proposal doing good, it will not always be the best weapon for a prince, because if it is something that man has as nature, that he still cannot understand, it is the inappropriate behavior towards the people who only give youwell and avoid seeing you discontent.

That is why Machiavelli asks in a prince not only good virtues but Machiavellian attitudes that must be used sometimes to have respect and authority from the subjects.

In the modern world, only such an action can be called historical, immediately, is characterized by the need for a rapid and fulminating procedure, the speed becomes necessary, when it faces great danger, annihilating critical sense and irony, Irony,since it can destroy the charismatic character.

On the other hand, an important quality should be dedicated to the question of intellectual and moral reform, that is, to the religious issue or a conception of the world, since this must be organized in an intellectual way, which means that it must be createdThe environment for a subsequent development of the will.

It is fundamental because they are incorporated into the first part, that is, that they are dramatically from the speech and not a cold and pedantic reasoning exposure.

This develops and disturbs the entire system of intellectual and moral relations in history of its development means that each act is conceived as useful or harmful, as virtuous or perverse and serves to increase its power or seize it, the prince is occupied in theconsciences, the place of imperativity and of all relationships and customs.

In conclusion, this book tells us about the different ways of obtaining power, how to keep it and increase it, under a very particular ethic.

Contrary to the ethics that instilled us from children;that tells us about respect, measurement, balance and that has happiness as well superior. Machiavelli proposes a pragmatic, cold ethic, more than an ideal, one day to day, expressed at its maximum "the end justifies the means", that is, no matter how it is achieved while it is achieved. I consider something bad because, if the happiness of others matters, it is not only to obtain what we want by trampling the rights of society, but, obtaining it in a correct and moral way.