Friday, December 21, 2007

Goodwill Over Anything Else

From The Prince and The Discourses of Machiavelli, there is a part that states that it is not necessary for a leader to let his subjects know who he really is and what his limitations are. Aren't these things supposed to be known to his constituents so they may know if they've got the right leader for a position?

Is it safe to say that a prince being deceitful to his subjects such as pretending to possess good qualities- merciful, faithful,humane, sincere, religious - even though he is not could make him a good and effective prince?

Doesn't the way of living of the citizens of a certain state reflect the success of the ruler and/or the state? If the ruler is "not good," deceives his subjects, and exploits them in order to maintain his rule over them, then how can it be successful in the sense that it can maintain the order, morality and progress of that state and society?

3 comments:

  1. when king is corrupt his officials are corrupt,
    and rich people become corrupt to stay rich and in the end
    common people suffer.
    If prince is good and he has weakness if he hide them it does not make people suffer.
    Imp is honesty of prince and honesty also has limitations as prince is also human and he needs privacy ,fun just like common man
    after all he is human not god he also eats what common man eats

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  2. The leader should be good to the people but at the same time set a limit for his kindness. He should be kind but strict.

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  3. sometimes a leader should sort of "deceive" his people for him to maintain a positive image to his constituents.

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