Is the phrase the ends justify the means a useful summary of Machiavellis The Prince
In Machiavelli's 'The Prince' it would appear, at first, that Machiavelli is advancing the argument that 'the ends justify the means'. However, I am unsure that this is a useful summary of 'The Prince' and that it may be an over simplification and even a misunderstanding.'The Prince' has been condemned for promoting fraud, force, and immorality in politics, justifying the use of evil means by a beneficial end. It has also been associated with corrupt, totalitarian government. Indeed the word Machiavellian refers to cunning, amoral, corrupt opportunistic political practices. 'The Prince' was even put on the papal Index of Prohibited Books in 1559 for its lack of conventional morality. This apparent lack of principles appears to be best demonstrated in Machiavelli's examples; Cesare Borgia, Agothocles and Oliverotto. Machiavelli in chapter 7 appears to celebrate Cesare Borgia's policy of having his own minister executed and displayed to absolve him of any cruelty. Having expl
ained to the reader what Cesare Borgia does Machiavelli states "So, now I have surveyed all the actions of the duke, I still cannot find anything to criticise". Machiavelli even states that one "cannot hope to find...a better model to imitate than Cesare Borgia." Agathocles's "bold achievements" were that he "had his soldiers kill all the senators and the richest citizens." Machiavelli says that "there seems to be no reason why he (Agathocles) should be judged less admirable than any of the finest generals." Machiavelli even appears to advocate violence in one of his conclusions, in chapter 8; "So the conclusion is: If you take control of a state, you should make a list of all the crimes you have to commit and do them all at once." 'The Prince' was undoubtedly written about monarchies not republics; "I shall omit any discussion on republics as I have discussed them fully elsewhere"; and as such it was intended to aid the monarch/prince (the Medici family in particular) in con
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Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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