The Prince As A Modern Polititcal Treatise - 2203 Words

The Prince As A Modern Political Treatise Written almost 500 years ago by the so called first political scientist in the world, Niccolo Machiavelli’s â€Å"The Prince† brings forward a new definition to virtue. A definition which argues against the concept brought forward by the Catholic Church. Machiavelli did not impose any thoughts of his own rather he only wrote from his experience and whatever philosophy that lead to actions which essentially produced effective outcomes in the political scene of Italy and in other countries. While he is still criticized for his notions, the truth is that, consciously or subconsciously we are all thinking for our own benefit and going†¦show more content†¦Once he became the emperor, he quickly expanded his empire in all fronts resulting in the deaths of thousands. However after one point he converted to Buddhism and ruled his land with peace till his death. The philosophy prescribed by Machiavelli is still used by different governments to some degree. There are law s and rules of conduct which enforces certain behaviors in the society. However an important distinction to be noted is that while â€Å"The Prince† deals with an autocrat, the world right now is mostly democratic. It is not about a person ruling the masses, rather one person out of the masses being selected to serve them. Intimidation and fear are tactics which are obsolete right now. In case a leader of the country fails to perform according to expectations he will be faced with consequences. Either someone new will be selected or an election will result with an opposing party participating. The whole concept of democracy was to shift the power from a ruler to the mass. People now have a fundamental right to voice their opinions and concerns and it is part of a healthy democratic system. However this does not mean that one could trample over a government if someone wanted to. There are laws which everyone has to follow. If we take a broader perspective, such as taking a 3rd world country where democracy is not strong we see the same controlling methods prescribed in