Machiavelli’s Theories Applied to Democracy and Capitalism, Research Paper Example

The past two years have proven that globalization has taken full effect. When the United States entered crisis mode in late 2007 the rest of the world did as well, from Birmingham, Alabama to Bangalore, India economies slowed, jobs were lost and businesses died. Many blame the global economic melt down on government regulation of industry while others believe that regulations were not strong enough. In US we live and operate in a capitalistic and democratic society. Perhaps it is the freedom of individuals and business that have led to irresponsible decision making on all parties, or can we say that our leaders mislead us. One of the most prominent authors from the Renaissance, Niccolo Machiavelli offered leaders guidance on gaining and maintaining power and how to successfully manager the state.

During the 14^th century Western Europe experienced a transformation of cultural that was later called the renaissance. The renaissance began in Italy when ancient Roman and Greek writing were discovered. After the discovery and explosion of new ideas, art, architecture and thought came about.  Scholars began focusing on real life experiences and achievement in the present time as opposed to life after death as they had prior. During the renaissance the idea of well-rounded individuals came in to practice; no longer did individuals only excel in one field but held talents in several fields.

Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was born on 3^rd May 1469 in the republic of Florence.  He was a writer and an Italian philosopher. Machiavelli is seen and considered as the chief founder of present political science. He was a political philosopher, composer, diplomat and playwright. Furthermore, he was a civil servant in the Republic of Florence. The Great Council nominated him as second Chancery of the Florence Republic after they ousted and sought the execution of Girolamo Savonarola in June of 1498 (Constantine 41).

Machiavelli is considered a typical example of Renaissance man like the famous Leonardo da Vinci. His short political treatise that he wrote in 1513 made him famous. Though, this treatise did not become popular until much later as it was published five years after his death in 1532. Since the sixteenth century, generations of political leaders have remained attracted to, yet repel from the power cynical approach that is posited in The Prince and Machiavelli’s other works. The term Machiavellianism is the modern political word that came from his surname that has come to mean, the use of deceitful and cunning tactics in the politics (Khan 98). In the world today, most of the leaders in most countries are using their own ways to survive that are very cunning. Machiavellianism is a term that personality and social psychologists use in describing the tendency by the person to deceive or even manipulate other people for their own personal gain. In the economic world today, most leaders are manipulating most of the things in their own economies to benefit; this can be related to the Machiavellianism.

The Prince is a political treatise by the Niccolo Machiavelli. At the time to book was written and published many of the views Machiavelli expressed were seen as extreme. Three key points of the text were for a leader to act boldly, protect his power and to appear unwavering while remaining flexible.

The leaders in most countries are bold and ever ready to protect their powers so it cannot be taken from them by others. This is towards the Machiavelli’s ideas and thoughts that a leader needs to protect his power and even act boldly (Bock et al 45).

Machiavelli asserts that the good moral that is greatest is an honorable and a steady state. Machiavelli also maintains that in regards to protecting the state, the actions although cruel are very much justified. He goes ahead to say that; there is no need for hating the prince due to those types of actions. Machiavelli argues, the prince should also attempt to try and avoid hatred at all cost among his people. This clearly fits to the world leaders today who are very cruel in their actions to an extent that they are hated by their people..

The Prince looks on to the acquisition, the preservation and the use of political power in the world. Machiavelli justified the ruling by force rather than use of the law to rule (Bock et al 48).  Machiavelli on his point of view says that the two very important foundations of any state or government are strong military and sound laws. He believes that a self sufficient prince is the one who can face the foe on front line with no fear at all.

Machiavelli strongly opposes the use of the mercenaries, as he believes that they are useless to any ruler. He says they are cowardly, undisciplined and that have no loyalty and they are only motivated by money. Machiavelli attributes the weakness on the Italian state on the reliance on the mercenaries’ armies.   Machiavelli strongly warns against the use of the auxiliary forces or forces that are borrowed from an ally. This is because if they win the employer is beneath their favor and he ruined if they lose. The auxiliary forces are even more dangerous than the mercenaries’ forces. It is through the war that the hereditary prince is able to maintain his power or even for a private. Machiavelli advises that, the prince to be keener in studying the great military men for his intellectual strength. He should imitate their successes while at the same time avoiding their mistakes. A diligent king when there is peace will be ready even in the adversity times.

Machiavelli on his concern about the behavior of the prince should not go for goodness at all the times, as this is likely to lead to ruin as not all men are good in whatever they do. Machiavelli says that it is hard for a modern world leader to maintain some good qualities. A prince may look as if he is faithful, merciful, religious and even frank but in real sense he may not be that way. It is very hard for the leader to maintain some of the qualities and sometimes, it becomes essential to do against them. Machiavelli maintains that a character that is bad needs to be kept away from and at the same moment it is not important in the power maintenance.

Machiavelli says that it has been better to be feared and loved. Although both do not come together, for any person who may want greater security should seek for not being loved but to being feared. Machiavelli emphasizes that those pledges that are prepared in fear are kept out of the fear and those that are prepared in peace are not reserved in adversity always. Machiavelli advises that the prince should not try to interfere with the subject’s properties or even their life without proper justification. Machiavelli denotes that the prince should try and keep his word. This usually makes the prince to be praised as well as his illusion of his reliability towards keeping his own word. Therefore, the prince is not supposed to break his own words without need. Machiavelli observes that prince should through his conduct command respect as the prince who is given respect by his people does not face inner resist. People have gone to an extent today of not fearing their leaders any more. This has also made the leaders to fear interfering with the properties of its people.

Machiavelli asserts that the prince should keep his subjects occupied so that they cannot get a chance of rebelling. He says that it is advisable for the prince not to ally with the strong forces unless he is compelled to do that. According to Machiavelli, wisdom is the most crucial virtue.

Machiavelli says that no moral basis to which one can know the difference between illegitimate and legitimate use of authority. Power and control are almost equal as the one with the authority also has the commanding rights, but the power is not ensured by goodness and there is no authority in a good person by the virtue or the fact that he is good. In the opposition that is direct to the politics of moralistic theory of politics. Machiavelli utter that the political ruler greatest worry is acquisition and power maintenance. Many world leaders today have been possessed by that idea of controlling their power.

Democracy is the for the most part tough type of the government for the people and politicians. In the world today, most countries that are democratic are republics, i.e. this is where its officials are elected. In democratic monarchies the constitution guarantees the basic rights in any democratic republic but at the same time set limits that are clear to their responsibilities and competences of the monarch. Such type of a king should be seen as stabilizing aspect but not the danger to the democracy.

Democracy is also a type of the government that has a constitution that promises the basic individual and the political rights, free and fair selection and also independent courts of law that are independent. A country that wants to be democratic in the modern times must to fulfill basic requirements. These requirements should not be only written within constitution but should be fulfilled each and every day by both the authority, law enforcement, and the politicians. A democratic country needs to guarantee its individuals the basic human rights and also the state and the authority as well as the social groups. The powers should be separated between the institution like the government or executive power, parliament or legislative power and the law courts (judicative power). There must be freedom of speech, press, opinion and mass media. Also, Liberty in religion with voting equal rights that is also general. Finally a democratic state should have good authority that spotlight on the interest of the public and is absent from bribery, at all cost.

According to the argument by the Machiavelli, it is very hard for any country to be 100 percent democratic. This is mainly contributed by the fact that people do not give back or even give a chance to those leaders who are soft and always to the democracy. Most leaders in these countries, which are said to be democratic, inflict some from of fear in their people to as to be able to rule. According to Machiavelli, any leader who wants to prosper and maintain his power should inflict some fear in his people so that they cannot think of rebelling against him. Machiavelli argues that fear is paramount towards good governance. He argues that any leader who maintains democracy is always loved by his people but this on the other hard is very dangerous. He continues in saying that it is not possible to be feared and loved at the same time and there fore it is advisable for any ruler who wants to remain in power to be feared regardless of whether he wants his country to be democratic (Donaldson 65).

Capitalism is a social and economic system where capital as a means of production or non-labor factor of production is controlled by some individuals or they are privately controlled. The labor, capital and goods are traded in the markets with the profits being distributed to the owners or even being invested in the industries and technologies (Donaldson 12).

They are several economic elements of the capitalism. These include money, which is a standardized means of exchanging that does reduce all the commodities and goods to a standard value. It does eliminate the system of the barter trade by separating those transactions that are concerned in the exchange of products. Labor power is another element of capitalism. Labor includes the physical and mental human resources that include the entrepreneurial capacity and the management skills that are needed to change one type of commodity to another. Production means is also another economic element of capitalism which also means capital goods or all those manufactured aids to the production like the machinery, tools and the buildings. Another very important element is commodity (Niccolò and Leslie 42). There are two types of commodities, which include consumer goods and capital goods. The capital goods are the products which are produced not for consumption that is immediate but as consumer goods inputs. The capital goods include things like the raw materials, lands, tools, machines and the factories. The consumer goods include things like the televisions, computers, houses and cars that are sold to others. Production is the last element of capitalism. This involves the act of making goods or even services by combining means of production and labor power. In capitalism the individuals do engage in the economy as the laborers, investors and consumers (Everdell 12). The consumers influence the production through their purchase decisions, because the producers are likely to change the production to produce that, which is profitable to him. Investors may look for the ways of investing and how much to save. These saving do provide the money that is needed for a business to grow. The invested money becomes investment and profit (Everdell 17).

In any country that is capitalist, the government does not at any point prohibit the private property or individuals to work from any place where they feel pleased to work from. This government does also not prevent the private firms or individuals from determining what to pay the worker or even the amount to charge their products. Under the capitalism the government provides or carries several numbers of the economic functions like issuing money and even supervising the public utilities and also enforcing private contracts. The laws like the policy competition, prohibited unfair business practices and also protection against the completion are the roles of the government. In the capitalist government, the agencies regulate services standards in many industries like the airlines and the broadcasting (Niccolò and Leslie 36).

According to Machiavelli a country that just gives all the freedom to its people does not survive for along time as the prince may think. Machiavelli also believes that it is important for the government to put across some measure so as to be able to control its people well so as they may not find time to rebel against the leader. The leader should not give excess freedom to people; this will not give people a chance to do all that they may think they can do. It is also very important for any capitalist leader to control the people’s activities so that he may be above them and have easier time when ruling them (Friedman 45).

It is important for a good leader to make some ruthless decision in his ruling although not always. When the situation becomes possible for the leader to be ruthless it is advisable. Perhaps the world wouldn’t be where it is today if would have or wouldn’t have taken thoughts from Machiavelli.

Work Cited

Bock, Quentin & Maurizio Viroli. Machiavelli and Republicanism. London: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Constantine, Peter N. The Essential Writings of Machiavelli. New York: Random House Modern Library, 2007.

Donaldson, Peter S. Machiavelli and Mystery of State. London: Cambridge University Press 1989.

Everdell, William R. The End of Kings: A History of Republics and Republicans. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Friedman, Milton K. Capitalism and Freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962.

Khan, Ali L. (2003). A Theory of Universal Democracy: Beyond the End of History. New York: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2003.

Niccolò, Bernard & Leslie Joseph. The discourses. London: penguin group press, 1964.