Machiavelli

2 Pages 419 Words

Machiavelli

“It is better to be feared than loved” This is one of the most interesting topics that was brought up in the movie that I felt would be fun to write about. The different between being feared and loved is a very fine line sometimes, through the years many different leaders have bordered on the two in their leadership. Machiavelli obviously firmly believed that it was much better to be feared than loved, but as always there are two sides to every argument.
I agree with Machiavelli in some ways because fear is a good way to rule people. If they fear you they will generally not bother you in any way in fear of you harming them or someone close to them. With his opinion on being loved, I believe he felt it made the ruler vulnerable; it made them look weak and easy to attack and overthrow.
The problems that I see with Machiavelli’s point of view is that in order for you to be feared you have to set an example, and the problem with setting an example is you have to use someone as that example. I personally am not one who thinks you should have to hurt or kill a person in order for others to follow you. I could never go out and kill a bunch of people for the reason of setting an example to others.
The other quote of Machiavelli’s quotes that I want to discuss is “the end justifies the means”. This is a very controversial quote that I feel can apply in some instances but is not appropriate in others. Take for instance the situation in providence with the mayor. Providence was in rough shape a few years ago but Mayor Cianci cleaned up the city and made it into the beautiful city that is today. But along the way of the reinvention of the city he had to do a few things that weren’t exactly 100% legal. Now I'm not exactly sure how much he did and to who he did it to, but it seems to me that in this case he really didn’t do anything that was that bad. Stealing a little money and shaking down a few people was r...