Government+&+Machiavelli

Machiavelli and Politics. Perhaps the man who shaped the American political scene the most was not an American at all. In fact, in his lifetime, America was only a concept to most Europeans. Niccoló Machiavelli was one of the preeminent political scientists of all time. His definitive work, The Prince, helped to lead the way for politicians of the future to hone their skill of deceit and dupery for use upon their unwitting citizens. But the Prince was originally written to show the common folk of the actions of politicians and leaders in their own realms. The Prince details how some actions that might be considered “immoral” must be committed in order to gain personally, especially from the leader’s standpoint. In fact, the Prince goes so far as to say that such amoral actions are condonable so long as they are decisive: swift, effective and short-lived. How does this relate to today you ask? Well, to put to fine a point on it, very obviously. It is no secret that most politicians are only in the race to get re-elected. They also cut secret deals to get themselves money and to help their associates from whom said money comes from. Also, if they are interested in helping the public, they might have to do something that would not win them positive Karma in order to achieve a common goal. For instance, Abraham Lincoln’s great Emancipation Proclamation was one of the single greatest acts of deception in history. Because he knew such a drastic act would never pass with Congress, he issued this freedom edict as an act of war, and it only pertained to the slave states, not to the North. Now don’t go thinking that Honest Abe was not as honest as is claimed, in fact, credit should be given for hurdling a potential filibuster. As Machiavelli himself stated in the Prince, "Well used are those cruelties (if it is permitted to speak well of evil) that are carried out in a single stroke, done out of necessity to protect oneself, and are not continued but are instead converted into the greatest possible benefits for the subjects. ” So the next time you see a political debate, or some slam commercial during election season, you know whom to thank.