A part that stuck out to me a lot is chapter 19 in the beginning where it says “a prince ought to have two fears, one from within, on account of his subjects, the other from without, on account of external powers.” This stuck out to me because it is a very true and important statement to follow. It is clear from other chapters that he thinks it is better to be feared rather than loved to be a good ruler and this statement in chapter 19 supports it. The fear within is keeping the fear of the people in the kingdom or country, while the fear without is keeping the fear of the other countries or kingdoms around them. This statement is very useful for our countries president today because for a ruler to be obeyed he has to have some type of fear instilled in his people. An example would be police and the use of media. The country also would need to have some allies to keep the other countries from attacking them and possibly starting a world war which would be the external fear. Overall there has to be fear in anyone who can possible go against a country and its ruler. This statement made says that not only should you have the fear of the people within your country but the fear of the people and other rulers who are outside the country.

“In either case it will always be well for you to declare yourself, and join in frankly with one side or other. For should you fail to do so you are certain, in the former of the cases put, to become the prey of the victor to the satisfaction and delight of the vanquished, and no reason or circumstance that you may plead will avail to shield or shelter you; for the victor dislikes doubtful friends, and such as will not help him at a pinch; and the vanquished will have nothing to say to you, since you would not share his fortunes sword in hand.” (CH 21)

I think this particular passage is relevant to contemporary US politics because this passage is well explaining about how the US could have strong relationship between different cultures. For example, George Washington was well known as the first president of the United States by elected from citizens. Also, well known as made union the citizen of the US and made Great British ran away from the US. If George Washington didn’t win this war, rest of the citizens would be remembering as him as heroes and feel thankful because citizens knew how he contributed for freedom from British colony. Eventually, United States got freedom from their colony so; citizens were more had tight friendships each other because they have common memories and pains from colonial. However, after or before the war, if George Washington didn’t have a strong opinion about how he would change the United States, no one would be following him. Today, US still follow constitution because this constitution is basic principle for America.

The passage I’ve selected might be considered useful by someone running for office in the US today because from Machiavelli’s advice, he said when you need to choose something that important decision, choose only one side because it’s better than choose either one. Even though your choice was not a good choice, you would not regret because it would be chance to make your people more credible to you. So, when your client or someone tries to bribe or if your position is in neutral, it’s better to choose either this or that because express your strong opinion will be helpful to lead your opinion.

In Chapter 18 Machiavelli tells us how it is much better to appear honorable and other positive characteristics than to actually have them. Machiavelli states how rulers who have these positive attributes have to please the populace and sooner or later it can turn on them. This could be directly tied to US politicians running for power. A politician trying to obtain power can for example go on a tour throughout the country giving examples of how honorable and generous they are to citizens. The politician could also have ads showing how caring he is and use people close to him as examples of how caring he is, appearing to the populace as honorable. When said politician does win election and comes to power, he can do the opposite of what he appeared to be but must also remember to always appear to be doing the good thing and try to maintain his “honorable” image.

-Matias Hernandez

Chapter 18 may have been the most frequent picked chapter because of its close relation with today’s society and its application in modern politics. Although Machiavelli lived and observed in a much different time era, his thoughts and observations still hold some truth compared to our systems now.  There are two interesting parts about this chapter; one is how Machiavelli gives a sort of insight on how the position of power should be held.  The second part is that in today’s political system it can be argued that our political systems actually function like that.

In this chapter, Machiavelli advises how figures of leading positions “Should keep their promises”. He mentions how the ruler should, of course, naturally keep his promises to the people he rules over because that’s how u remain praiseworthy and favored by the people.  Immediately, he clarifies his personal thoughts on how a ruler should really go about keeping their promises.  According to Machiavelli the most successful leaders didn’t necessarily always keep their promises and word to their subjects but they tried to always make it look like they were. There are five qualities that a ruler should always appear to have: merciful, trustworthy, humane, upright, and devout.

This is very similar to the characteristics that modern day politicians have.  All appear to have these righteous traits, some actually do and some definitely don’t.  In today’s system, Machiavelli would probably say the same thing he said centuries ago, although, being merciful might be a given and natural trait now.

“I conclude, therefore that a prince need trouble little about conspiracies when the people are well disposed..”. When reading chapter 19 this message stuck out to me most. When thinking about the message Machiavelli is trying to portray, I think of someone who is extremely dark and sinister. It is manipulation at its finest. He is basically trying to knit pick and working towards trying to find the best ways at punishing those that don’t agree with him. Being hated will not translate to success for someone in higher power, but fear will. As long as property or women aren’t stripped, then everything else is fair game. When thinking about modern day politics, one can only think about the relationship between representatives of this country and the middle class/poor. The government can implement policies and laws that handicap those who live under them, as long as it sustains their own well-beings. One can argue against Machiavelli that slaughter (justified or not) is not the way to go.

Chapter Twenty-One

Page 70, “He should encourage his citizens by making it possible for them to pursue their occupations peacefully, whether they are businessmen, farmers, or are engaged in any other activity, making sure they do not hesitate to improve what they own for fear it may be confiscated from them, and thy are not discouraged from investing in business for fear of losing their profit in taxes; instead, he should ensure that those who improve and invest are rewarded, as should be anyone whose actions will benefit his city or his governments.”

As the years pass our world evolves along with all matter that surround us.  The job that man has from the time that the world opens its doors, is to use your thinking power to do well in what we know as society. Yes, something that distinguishes us from other species that inhabit the earth, it is reasonable and we are social beings. Being part of a society forces you for your own safety, obey rules that are specifically created for there to be a good coexistence among members of a community, and in turn so that there is respect for their rights. Each company has a specific group of individuals who will be responsible for managing certain agents which are very important in a society such as administration of the economy, the market, the state of law and all those institutions that have been implemented to operate on the interests of citizens. You could say that these groups of individuals are those who govern a country, so are those who have power over any institution that exists in a given society, and in consequence, we citizens have to respect them and try to adapt to its laws. These rulers itself, require a leader in its mandate, which through the ages have been given different names like emperors, kings, president, etc.

The role played by the leader of a country and that any action carried out by the power that is allowed, depending on the circumstances these bring benefit or misfortunes to our country. A leader must have a set of attitudes that will enable or rather to provide it have the proper use of power to get as a result of this, a peaceful community where there are equalities, where no crimes were committed, where there is a good balance of the economy, and where there is enforcement of the rule of law. According to Machiavelli on his letter, even the must minimum actions that make an individual who wants to be leader will be a base or destruction of what it can build in the future. As an example, today someone that wants to become president of a country need to perform their actions through a political party, which have to be strategic to persuade people to vote for him, and so slowly, looking for a way to gain power.

“A ruler, and particularly a ruler who is new to power, cannot conform to all those rules that men who are thought good are expected to respect, for he is often obliged, in order to hold on to power, to break his word, to be uncharitable, inhumane, and irreligious. So he must be mentally prepared to act as circumstances and changes in fortune require. As I have said, he should do what is right if he can; but he must be prepared to do wrong if necessary.”

I think this quote is extremely relevant in today’s politics in many ways. To me this relates to how many politicians running for power like to promise things to get power that they may or may not be able to achieve.  This is a good example of how maybe what he or she promises will be a popular thing but may not be a necessary thing.  Machiavelli believes that its better to do the necessary thing then the right thing. One good example today is our debt.  Politicians don’t want to run and tell the people they need to cut spending and increase taxes because they wouldn’t win and that isn’t popular. However, this is necessary for our country to fix a tremendous and growing problem we have that many politicians will not address although it is necessary. Raising taxes may not be the charitable thing or convenient thing to do but if its not done our country will be in bad shape. I think these beliefs were spot on even in that time period in terms of holding on to power. This way of thinking isn’t what people want to hear but for many politicians in order to hold there position they must do things people do want them to do.

“he should take as his models among the animals both the fox and the lion, for the lion does not know how to avoid traps, and the fox is easily overpowered by wolves. So you must be a fox when it comes to suspecting a trap, and a lion when it comes to making the wolves turn tail.”

This quote in chapter 18 of Machiavelli’s “The Prince” speaks to qualities that a leader should have when interacting with others and when trying to make decisions to stay in power. Stay powerful but stay aware of others and the intentions of others.

This same concept can still be applied to and followed today. People who are in power or are looking of positions of power in our government should always be aware of decisions and the intentions of others. Some people might just be out to take advantage of your status or some people might be out to ruin the image of a person of power. In this sense, politicians should be like the fox, aware of any potential threats or danger to their image; especially given the fact of how fast and easily accessible our society is to information today.

Politicians today should not be afraid to take control and show strength in making or sticking to a decision. People vote and want someone who will stick to their guns. They want someone who will act like the lion when it comes to doing what it takes to get something done. A combination of the two qualities of the fox and the lion, in my opinion, are two qualities that are typically found in the “good” politicians.

” There are two ways to fight: one while respecting the rules, the other with no holds barred. Men alone fight in the first fashion, and animals in the second. But because you cannot always win if you respect the rules, you must prepare to break them” This passage in chapter 18 of the prince stood out to me most. Before applying to Baruch I had little to no interest in politics. My dream of one day working for an exclusive Wall Street firm has made me very intrested in the corruption of domestic and international politics. The most interesting thing I discovered upon doing my research and attempting to build a solid network is that 90% of the succesful Wall Street bankers in have met all came from generations of wealth. I was told by many successful finance people that it was rare to find an employee in a high status position that came from a poor family. I was also told that no matter how well I do in school it will be nearly impossible for me to find a job at an elite firm coming from a state school. Most students from low income families cannot afford to attend “prestigious” private schools that elite Wall Street firms actively recruit from, nor can they afford to go to expensive private high schools that give students a better chance to gain admission to these private universities. This is very ironic considering the United States is considered the homeland for freedom. In my opinion there is a strong connection between Machiavellis theory and the success of wealthy powerful Americans in business and in politics, being that there is also a big conecntion between big business and politics. ” So you see a wise ruler cannot and should not keep his word when doing so is to his disadvantage, and when the reasons that led him to him to his promise to do so no longer apply” Many politicians running in the United States promise change for the better in their campaigns, that we do not always see happen. If we consider Machiavillies theory to be true, we could say that it would be smart for a policitician to side with the masses and make promises geared toward the interests of the masses. Wether the politician implements these changes will not matter after he has won the election. The United States is arguably one of the most corrupt nations in the world , and may be considered the best at hiding it. Machiavellis theory does not have to be altered much. I do think that many of Machiavellis strategies are used by today’s politicians in the United States. Machiavellian theory promotes corruption and deceit, which in my oppinion is parralel to the strategies of many powerful politicians of our age. ” He must seem, to those who listen to him and watch him, entirely pious, truthful, reliable, sympathetic, and religious. There is no quality that is more important he should seem than the last one” We see many politics use religion to get the masses on their side. We saw this strategy used by former president G.W bush in the 2000 election.

“… he should take as his models among the animals both the fox and the lion, for the lion does not know how to avoid traps, and the fox is easily overpowered by wolves. So you must be a fox when it comes to suspecting a trap, and a lion when it comes to making the wolves turn tail.” I think this passage is useful for people who are running for the office in US today. As people who are running for the office, they need to be able to have these two qualities to hold on to the power to be leader. In old times, a leader should be strong enough to intimidate intruders and enemies. For example, a leader might show their power based on their armies or forces to scare away outsiders and protect their own territory. However, in the case of current time, I think the quality of lion means the ability to make people see you as a leader in addition to actual forces. It is important that people believe their leader as it will prevent unnecessary issues like rebelling against the leader. Power is built from the people, the leader will not be able to maintain his position without supporters. At the same time, if a leader does not know how to avoid trap, he will not be able to hold on to his power for long too as he will not be able to protect his position if someone is scheming to replace him. Not necessarily cunning, but it could be useful to outsmart the people who are scheming something harmful. It is also a way to avoid physical confrontations, like wars.  Though physical power is still important to protect people if and when there are attacks or it can act as a strong base. We try to avoid wars now, which is why the quality of fox is equally important because we can’t use physical force to solve for everything today. It would be a chaos and it will possibly lead to wars. Thus, a leader should be a “fox” and a “lion” at the same time as he is achieving greater peace for his people.