The Prince - Softcover

Niccolo Machiavelli

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1934255181 ISBN 13: 9781934255186

Publisher: El Paso Norte Pr, 2009

Synopsis

With "The Prince", Machiavelli made his name synonymous with intrigue and cunning for all time. His instructions to the Prince, on achieving and maintaining power, by any and all means available, became the archetypical philosophy of The Ends Justify The Means.

Machiavelli advocated that political expediency supersedes morality and that success, by any means, is its own justification. His cold, calculating logic sweeps aside and dismisses all arguments against the use of every manner of deceit and dishonesty for a ruler to achieve his ends on the basis that those ends, once achieved, are, in themselves, sufficient justification.

Not only does Machiavelli make philosophical arguments for his viewpoint, he gives numerous practical examples of behavior, which are generally considered to be both ruthless and invariably successful. For nearly 500 years, politicians of all stripes have found that in ignoring Machiavelli's views they become easy prey to those who are willing to employ Machiavellian methods.

Machiavelli is considered by many to be the Father of Modern Political Theory. His influence has been immense and his writings, particularly "The Prince", will undoubtedly continue to influence many generations to come.

About this title

Review:

When Lorenzo de' Medici seized control of the Florentine Republic in 1512, he summarily fired the Secretary to the Second Chancery of the Signoria and set in motion a fundamental change in the way we think about politics. The person who held the aforementioned office with the tongue-twisting title was none other than Niccolò Machiavelli, who, suddenly finding himself out of a job after 14 years of patriotic service, followed the career trajectory of many modern politicians into punditry. Unable to become an on-air political analyst for a television network, he only wrote a book. But what a book The Prince is. Its essential contribution to modern political thought lies in Machiavelli's assertion of the then revolutionary idea that theological and moral imperatives have no place in the political arena. "It must be understood," Machiavelli avers, "that a prince ... cannot observe all of those virtues for which men are reputed good, because it is often necessary to act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion, in order to preserve the state." With just a little imagination, readers can discern parallels between a 16th-century principality and a 20th-century presidency. --Tim Hogan

From the Publisher:

Here is the world's most famous master plan for seizing and holding power. Astonishing in its candor The Prince even today remains a disturbingly realistic and prophetic work on what it takes to be a prince . . . a king . . . a president. When, in 1512, Machiavelli was removed from his post in his beloved Florence, he resolved to set down a treatise on leadership that was practical, not idealistic. In The Prince he envisioned would be unencumbered by ordinary ethical and moral values; his prince would be man and beast, fox and lion. Today, this small sixteenth-century masterpiece has become essential reading for every student of government, and is the ultimate book on power politics.

About this edition

• Publisher: El Paso Norte Pr
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1934255181
• ISBN 13: 9781934255186
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 204
• Editor: Shawn Conners