The Prince
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Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, written in 1513, holds many of the keys to what Machiavelli considered as the perfectly run state. His keys, however, still apply to the modern day governments around the world, even the United States. Modern day ordeals also reflect some of the ideas Machiavelli stated in his work as well.
One of Machiavelli’s ideas in The Prince is that when a prince, or president in this manner, occupies a conquered nation that to govern them “the most secure path is to eliminate them or live in them.” This idea appears to be used in one of the most horrendous operations in the quest for world domination by the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler during WWII. His main goal was to occupy the world with the superior race of Germans as the leaders. He also believed that the Jewish race was a barrier in his plan. However, instead of living within the race, he decided to exterminate the Jewish peoples through horrific methods such as the gas chamber. This method of foreign policy or military strategy has also been used by many cultures before and after the Nazis, though it has become highly rare in the past 60 years since the fall of Nazi Germany and is looked down upon by the nations of the world. While this would be a workable foreign policy or military strategy for the United States, to crush our opponents or live within them, I would highly have to disagree with it as it would be extremely violent and would tarnish the reputation of the United States as one of the superpowers of the world and turn us into the primary enemy of everyone in the world. This also would be very inappropriate in dealing with the situation of the Iraqi people and the nation of Iraq. Both ends of Machiavelli’s statement fit the situation. However, it would be wise to live within the nation and its people. It would assist in the formation of a government for the nation and increase the morality of the people to see the United States working for the people, and not the people working for the United States in the creation of their representative government. Also it would be highly costly and inconsiderate to help a nation for 6 years, only to stab them in the back and kill the millions of people living in Iraq.
Another of Machiavelli’s ideas was how a prince should avoid making decisions that create hatred and contempt in his people for himself. Machiavelli says, “One of the most powerful remedies that a prince has against conspiracies is not to be hated by the people generally.” This is a very obvious thing for him to say one would think, but I believe it isn’t said enough. An example of someone who didn’t follow Machiavelli’s advice was President Anwar Sadat of Egypt in 1981. He had made decisions that had affected a large number of his population angry with him. He was assassinated during a public appearance by assassins who disguised themselves as military men. They stopped in front of the podium he was talking at and opened fire on him. While there was some controversy around his assassination, it directly relates to what Machiavelli said on how to avoid conspiracies. My suggestion to you, Mr. Obama, is that you handle the issues based on what the majority of the nation wants. This will ensure that you will not create conspiracies or assassination attempts for yourself. I would also suggest taking this course on dealing with the problem of Iraq. Observe what the people want you to do, and do that. It creates a smooth flow, with little opposition. Other countries around the world will also notice and respect our nation more than they would a gung-ho nation as mentioned above.
Niccolo Machiavelli also agreed that a nation should be heavily armed, as the United States already is.