Philosophies of Woodrow Wilson and Machiavelli, Essay Example

President Woodrow Wilson and Niccolò Machiavelli had contrasting views regarding their visions of war and peace in world politics. Woodrow Wilson’s “War Declaration Against Germany” and the “Fourteen Points” aimed to describe the actions the world could take to achieve peace, while Machiavelli’s “The Prince” claims that power is best attained through military prowess. The two leaders lived in very different times and cultures and their philosophies reflect this fact; Woodrow Wilson’s statements were meant to be applied mainly to republics and democracies while Machiavelli’s work was advice for rulers of autocratic governments. As such, Woodrow Wilson’s philosophy is more relevant to the modern world; the most powerful governments during the modern era are democratic and many countries that were formerly rules by different types of governments are shifting to adapt this ideology. Therefore, the vision for world peace laid out in “War Declaration Against Germany” and “The Fourteen Points” serve as a better foreign policy plan than the advice presented in “The Prince”.

Broadly, Woodrow Wilson’s goal of the speech was to ask Congress for permission to enter war with Germany. On April 2, 1917, he stood before the House and the Senate to present his argument both for and against entering the war. Since Wilson was a democratic leader, he opened his speech in manner that reflects the structure of the American government, “I have called the Congress into extraordinary session because there are serious, very serious, choices of policy to be made, and made immediately, which it was neither right nor constitutionally permissible that I should assume the responsibility of making”. Even though Woodrow Wilson was president at the time, he rightfully recognized that ethically requires the permission of Congress to officially enter the war. Although his executive powers would have availed him the right to send troops overseas without an official war declaration, he instead preferred to hear the opinions of the country’s representatives before making any kind of decision. As the speech continues, Wilson describes the distressing actions that the German government is taking and how this is negatively impacting innocent people in other parts of the world such as Belgium. As he does so, he demonstrates a great regret for the loss of life that has occurred at the hands of German soldiers; specifically he says, “I am not now thinking of the loss of property involved, immense and serious as that is, but only of the wanton and wholesale destruction of the lives of non-combatants, men, women, and children, engaged in pursuits which have always, even in the darkest periods of modern history, been deemed innocent and legitimate. Property can be paid for; the lives of peaceful and innocent people cannot be”. He then calls the German warfare a crime against mankind.

Although Woodrow Wilson’s speech is promoting war, it is promoting war on the half on innocent people. His main argument is that if the United States has the ability to intervene in the war and save human lives, it has the responsibility to do so. Woodrow Wilson had previously argued that the United States take a neutral position in the war, which is an excellent philosophy as well. Wilson’s speech therefore demonstrates that his foreign policy is generally one of neutrality and peace; however, if other countries demonstrate extreme need for assistance, the United States is morally obligated to intervene. Most importantly, although Wilson wishes to enter the war due to Germany’s government’s actions, he makes it clear that the German people are not enemies and are simply acting upon the commands of their rulers. This stresses that overall, he wishes to wage war for the propagation of peace rather than the want for continuous warfare.

In Wilson’s “Fourteen Points”, he details a list of fourteen actions that need to be taken to ensure the world’s peace after the war ends. In general it called for “open covenants of peace”, “freedom of navigation upon the seas”, “removal of economic barriers and equity of trade”, the reduction of national armaments, an open-minded and impartial judgment of colonial claims, and the formation of a general association of nations that will work together to support peace. Wilson also mentioned several political actions that would be helpful for the countries that were involved in the war. Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” was met with mixed criticism; some countries, such as Italy and Great Britain were skeptical of these ideas because they are too idealistic, while other Europeans countries supported them. Despite this, it is important to note that idealistic beliefs aren’t necessarily wrong; it is better to strive for the ideal than resort to a subpar set of standards that won’t work even if they are executed to the best of everyone’s ability. If the European countries were able to cooperate with the United States and follow these fourteen points, then future war would have surely been avoided. Although the countries were unable to come together and follow these rules, doing so would have likely prevented the Second World War. As a result, Woodrow Wilson’s foreign policy is ideal for the current political climate and will continue to be relevant as long as democracies and republics are viewed as governmental standards.

In Machiavelli’s “The Prince”, was written as advice for autocratic rulers. Although many people have taken its interpretation literally, the book was actually a satire and pokes fun at how many princes have conventionally ruled their kingdoms. Since this advice was taken literally during the time in which it was published, it will also be interpreted literally for the purposes of this argument. Chapter 3, “Concerning Mixed Principalities”, is relevant to Machiavelli’s opinions about waging war. This chapter discusses the issues that princes have in gaining new principalities due to the people’s expectations that a new prince will be able to improve their lives; if they find that this is not the case, they will be likely to revolt and find a new leader. Machiavelli says that to prevent this, the prince needs to be aptly prepared to crush the revolt to demonstrate his power. Specifically Machiavelli says, “It is very true that, after acquiring rebellious provinces a second time, they are not so lightly lost afterwards, because the prince, with little reluctance, takes the opportunity of the rebellion to punish the delinquents, to clear out the suspects, and to strengthen himself in the weakest places”. This demonstrate Machiavelli’s view of foreign policy accurately; he believes that princes have the right to take over new areas, and that to do so they usually have to create a rebellion, crush it, and then use this opportunity to strengthen himself compared to the people. In chapter 5, Machiavelli gives princes advice on how to rule principalities that lived under their own laws before occupation. He says that to do so, one must “the first is to ruin them, the next is to reside there in person, the third is to permit them to live under their own laws, drawing a tribute, and establishing within it an oligarchy which will keep it friendly to you”. This shows that Machiavelli writes in support of conquest and adaptation of customs and laws that support the prince for his foreign policy plan.

In conclusion, Woodrow Wilson’s view on foreign policy is both more peaceful and more relevant to the modern world than the opinions that Machiavelli demonstrated in “The Prince”. Woodrow Wilson states that nations should remain in a state of peace and neutrality and only break from this state when it is necessary to help our fellow man. If are able to strive for Wilson’s ideal statements, we will live in a more peaceful world and may one day be able to achieve world peace.

Works Cited

Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. 1532. Ed. & Trans. Robert M. Adams.

Wilson, Woodrow. Fourteen Points. 1918.

Wilson, Woodrow. War Declaration Against Germany. 1917.