The New Prince: Machiavelli Updated for the Twenty-First Century - Softcover

Morris, Dick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1580631479 ISBN 13: 9781580631471

Publisher: Renaissance Books, 2000

Synopsis

Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince has been one of the most widely read and quoted book about politics during the past five centuries. But in the democracies of the information age, new ideas are needed to make government prosper through the next century. Now, Dick Morris, who contributed significantly to President Clinton's reelection in 1996 and, during the previous two decades, helped many public officials (Democrats and Republicans alike) gain office, takes a hard look at our times and writes a how-to book for office-seekers, special-interest groups, and students of politics.

In The New Prince, Morris advises candidates to adopt idealism as a strategy―not because of misguided altruism, but because it works. He tells politicians, advocacy groups, business leaders, and citizens how to promote their causes and get their jobs done effectively. And he offers insights into the character of the most remarkable political figures of our time and outlines what he believes will be the political agenda for the next century.

About this title

Review:

It is beyond irony for Dick Morris, the man who has done as much as anyone in the 1990s to increase cynicism in the political process and encourage politicians to play to our worst fears and instincts, to turn around and say that politicians should be more idealistic because that's what people want. Yet that's the premise of The New Prince. Morris--who rose to national prominence by telling Bill Clinton what to say to appease Democratic liberals as he shifted party policy to the right--argues that the new pragmatism in politics is "to stay positive; to focus on the issues; to rise above party; and to lead through ideas.... Our candidates and office holders need to change their tactics, their focus, and their strategies--not in the interest of better government, but in order to succeed in their chosen line of work." Fewer people are voting, he says, but the ones who do are better informed, so message is more important than money now. Although he argued for early negative ads in the 1996 presidential campaign, Morris has seen the light, saying that "voters have moved beyond" negative ads. He also thinks Americans are sick of scandal, which is why the Republicans couldn't impeach Bill Clinton over his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Arguing that politicians have to constantly take the public temperature to govern effectively--"Each day is election day in modern America"--Morris justifies the constant polling that he has used as a political tactic throughout his career. So what is leadership? Morris defines it as maintaining "sufficient forward momentum to control events and steer public policy without losing public support."

Essentially, The New Prince is a handbook for politicians who want to get themselves elected, whether it be to the school board or the presidency, and on that level it works. But as a sage commentary on the state of politics at the end of the 20th century... heaven help us. --Linda Killian

About the Author:

Dick Morris, author of Behind the Oval Office, and Vote.com, was an advisor to President Clinton for twenty years. Time magazine referred to him as "The most influential private citizen in America . . . a gleeful genius." Morris is currently a political commentator for Fox television and the president of Vote.com.

About this edition

• Publisher: Renaissance Books
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1580631479
• ISBN 13: 9781580631471
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 264