Monthly Archives: December 2010

The Book of the Courtier/NYT

EU Suggests Jail Time for Insider Trading

“The European Commission on Wednesday suggested mandatory jail terms for insider trading and other market abuses as part of measures aimed at bolstering market confidence.”

Although in the US it has already been a normal practice for a long time, many EU countries “resisted sending white-collar offenders to prison.” Wrongdoers just paid a certain amount and were free to go (“Spain, Poland and Sweden are capped at €1 million, while only 12 countries impose sanctions corresponding to the amount earned from the violation, according to E.U. officials”). Still the amount of penalties and fines varies hugely across the EU.

“’Traders and executives must realize that they won’t get away with it and that the response will be tough,’ said Michel Barnier , the E.U. commissioner for financial services, referring to violations of financial services laws”.

In NYT article is written what a good and law-abiding citizen shouldn’t do. On the other hand in The Book of the Courtier is mentioned what a perfect Courtier should learn and do. “[B]eing of noble birth, graceful, charming, and expert in so many exercises”, “a man of honor and integrity: for included in this are prudence, goodness, fortitude, and temperance of the soul”, he also should avoid affectation and be devoted to his prince. In the excerpt from the Book C we can read mostly about perfect person(Courtier). Therefore in the EU government have to punish Courtiers who don’t seem to possess qualities praised by Baldesar Castiglione.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/09/business/global/09criminal.html?_r=1&ref=business

In The Prince, Machiavelli makes the statement that “men will judge their prince solely on appearance” and “thus it does not matter to the people that a prince may occasionally employ evil to achieve his goal” this position is very brash as he shows that appearance is greater then actions even if they are immoral. In today’s world no one has taken more away from this statement then the Republican Party, who have established themselves as the party for economic change. In the article “Economic Policy? More Listen to Conservatives” in the New York Times, emphasizes the new position of the Republican that led them to take the House of Representatives, even when it was under their control on government that led the economy near a second depression. Machiavelli would be proud of the Republican Party’s ability to rebrand themselves as something that is better then what they truly are, with policies such as “Pledge to America” and attacks on controversial Federal Reserve policy.

The Republican Party make policies such as the Pledge to America call for “a ban on tax increases, a tax deduction for small businesses and a reduction in government regulations. However, its proposals for paring the budget deficit — canceling unspent stimulus funds, ending government control of the mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, capping new discretionary spending and rooting out wasteful programs” but the article shows the party has no way of doing it or how it would help the economy through the Pledge. The GOP gives of an image that they can repair the economy in a way that all can benefit, meanwhile having no real clue of how it’s going to work. The Machiavellian ideal of appearance gives the people nothing more then a façade just as the Republican do with it policies.

On November 7th, New York Times published an article on Afghani wives titled “For Afghan Wives, a Desperate, Fiery Way Out.” This article describes the life of women in Afghanistan. Simply, in Afghani culture, the woman is property of the husband. On a more complicated side, these women are arranged to be married and to provide for their husbands at a very young age. The husbands are superior to their wives. Gul Zada, a victim to spousal abuse and a mother of six, choose the only option she had to get out of her situation, Suicide. However, her attempt at burning herself ended with her surviving with 60% of her body being burned. Suicide is the only option because “Returned runaways are often shot or stabbed in honor killings because the families fear they have spent time unchaperoned with a man. Women and girls are still stoned to death.” Gul Zada isn’t the only victim. In fact, the burn hospital has at least 10 female self-immolation cases at any one time. The hospital also added that Ms. Zada probably suffered from depression. This shows how much power the husbands have over their wives. New York Times states “The choices for Afghan women are extraordinarily restricted: Their family is their fate. There is little chance for education, little choice about whom a woman marries, no choice at all about her role in her own house. Her primary job is to serve her husband’s family. Outside that world, she is an outcast.”
In “The Pillow Book,” Sei Shonagon illustrates the life of a woman in Japan during the 10th century. In her stories and poetry she exhibits how women are treated as non equals by men. Husbands have full control over their wives since marriage. In her memoirs, she expressed “Depressing Things.” One story she tells is about a husband who fails to return home because he was with “some high-ranking Court lady” (B, 251). In medieval Japan, woman were housewives without opportunity. The major art of “The Pillow talk” was keeping it hidden. The fact it was kept hidden shows a great deal of how Japanese women were not equal to men.
Both the Afghani and Japanese women were put down by their husbands. As a whole, the male gender was and still is superior in some parts of the world.

Prince is a book on political theory. One theory The Prince strongly stresses, in Chapter 18, is “keeping your word.” A prince is only honored for keeping his word. Machiavelli also adds, a prince can still be honored if he gives off the illusion that he keeps his word. He states “And in the end they won out over those who founded themselves on loyalty” (C, 236). This quote simply means that perception and reputation is key to being a leader.  In today’s politics it’s easy to see majority of political leaders follow this motto. In recent news, President Barack Obama followed this motto precisely. President Obama won office based off a campaign he won by his popular slogan “change.” For the last 25 months Barack Obama’s reputation and his perception is falling apart, his approval ratings are at an all time low that illustrate this notion. With the reelection counting down on his priority list, he must reinstate his willingness to keep his words, dating back to his campaign. On December 3^rd he did just that, with surprising visit to the troops in Afghanistan. Once again, he reiterated his impression to start removing troops and aimed to ending foreign combat by 2014. New York Times writer Alissa Rubin states “American military forces have tripled, to 100,000, on Mr. Obama’s watch, and he has vowed to begin reducing the number of troops next July.” Publication of this story was mandatory to try to revive Obama’s perception in the United States, especially to attempt to get reelected. Machiavelli adds “Everyone sees what you appear to be, few touch what you are.” (C, 237) This quote again explains, the image you show is golden. Since only a few people personally know Mr. Obama, what he shows the majority through media is what the majority will judge him by. With the last 25 months of his presidency he expressed is lack in “keeping his word.” The loss of the house to the Republicans is directly correlated.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/us/politics/04prexy.html?scp=9&sq=Obama&st=cse

Baldesar Castiglione writes “The Book of the Courtier” in 1506. “The Book of the Courtier” is a guide to what type of person would be an ideal courtier. A courtier is a follower, who assists leaders in making decision. According to Castiglione, a Courtier should be well educated, be skillful in many activities, never appear to be using effort, make good judgments, capable of using charm to influence others and their motives should be hidden. In order for a courtier to be skillful in many activities, he has to learn different skills very early in their life, possibly after being born.

A New York Times article titled “For the Goal-oriented Parent, A Jump-start in Toddler sport” discusses a company called Gymtrix, who offers exercise programs designed for children as early as 6 months old and extends to around 2 years old. According to this article, “There are millions of American parents worried to death that their children might fall behind somebody else’s kid.” (NYT) This idea pushes parents to try to give their children an advantage against other children by starting fitness early. Castiglione said “…he must begin early and learn the principles from the best of teachers.” (C ,242) these programs for infant are the modern “best of teachers” since they are specially designed for infants. By starting early, Parents hope to give their children traits of a Courtier, one who is skillful in sports as well as able to influence others through socializing. These infants may even by like a Courtier in the program if they appear to be the most skilled and admired by others.

The article, “In Kazakhstan, Clinton Defends Openness, but Condemns Diplomatic Cable Leaks” can be very closely related to the concept of statesmanship in, The Prince by Machiavelli.

Machiavelli places a great deal of emphasis on military in The Prince, and how important it is to have a sound military in order to run a country.  However he also discusses how to maintain relations with neighboring cities.  Diplomacy and international relations are very important as a leader because it is what gives you power over another country.  For example in the NY Times article, Hilary Clinton went to Kazakhstan to speak about openness and the spread of democracy.  She also mentioned the wiki leaks that came out and addressed them with confidence.  One of the parliament members stated, “It’s a confirmation of American leadership in global political issues.”  It is one thing to be a ruler it is another thing to be a leader.  Because of the U.S.’s ability to conduct diplomacy and maintain there relations with other countries, it makes them feared and makes it seem like they have leadership qualities they may not necessarily have. According to Machiavelli, having leadership qualities is not nearly as important as appearing to have leadership qualities. “it is not necessary, then for a prince to have of the qualities mentioned above, but it is certainly necessary that he appear to have them.” (C, 237)  In the eyes of Machiavelli, maintaining a desirable public image is extremely important for leaders and this is exactly what Hilary Clinton does when she goes to Kazakhstan and speaks to the people there.  Because the majority of the world recognizes political leaders through what the media tells them, maintaining a desirable public image is more important now than ever before.

The Prince is basically Niccolo Machiavelli’s guide to what he believes makes a successful leader. Machiavelli clearly believes that honesty is not the best policy. The Prince states, “And so, a wise ruler cannot, nor should he, keep his word when doing so would be to his disadvantage and when the reasons that led him to make promises no longer exist (C, 236). Machiavelli writes that the most prestige rulers are not always loyal to their people, and that the trick is to be good at deceiving. The Prince also says, “And men, in general, judge more according to their eyes than their hands; since everyone is in a position to observe, just a few to touch” (C, 237). This statement is saying that it is important to appear to have certain characteristics because the majority of people will judge you on how you look to be and only few will have the ability to figure out who you really are.
 An article titled A Nazi Is Exposed, but Did He Have Anything to Hide? was published in the New York Times on December 7th. This article is about a man, Mark Gould, finding out about a former Nazi, Bernhard Frank. The article describes how Gould became fascinated with the Holocaust and decided to do research on the event in Germany. Though his findings he accused Frank as being a Nazi who aided to a very powerful man during the Holocaust. Gould believes that Frank should be penalized for what he was a part of years ago, however Frank denied ever playing a part in the tragic event years ago. Although Frank has written a book on his experiences and there are taped interviews of him talking of his experience, he still denied being involved. The article states, “In a telephone interview from his home in Frankfurt, Mr. Frank said he knew nothing about the Holocaust, a statement that seems doubtful given his administrative role in Himmler’s office. ‘I’ve never done statements concerning the Holocaust, because I just don’t exactly know much about it,‘ Mr. Frank said. ‘You have to be careful with statements. Do you understand?’” This article compares to The Prince because Bernhard Frank acted exactly the way the book says he should have. Frank denied all of the accusations against him and attempted to deceive everyone about his role as a Nazi. Although it is certain Frank played a major role in the Holocaust he still would not admit to it because he knew of the consequences. Machiavelli says that when telling the truth would come as a disadvantage to yourself that is when it is acceptable to be dishonest.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/world/europe/08nazi.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=world  December 7, 2010

Baldassare Castiglione suggests that to be a great courtier “he must begin early and learn the principles from the best teachers (C242). He gives examples of certain people who have succeeded from the teachings of great masters. Alexander the son of King Philip of Macedon learned “the first elements of letters” (C242) from a knowledgeable philosopher named Aristotle. Also Galeazzo Sanseverino, Grand Equerry of France is able to perform “bodily exercises” is because “he has taken the greatest care to study with good masters” (C242). According to Castiglione once courtier have accomplish to “do things well, and [makes] every effort to resemble and if that is possible, to transform himself into his master” (C242). Then a courtier will be able to successful do his tasks.

Similarly to Castiglione suggestions the New York Times reports that parents are sending their kids to sports academies “before they can walk” (NY times). The idea behind is to develop an advantage in their kids ability to perform the principles of any kind of sports. Parents are also involved in their infants’ activities. For example they “do a lot of jumping, kicking and, in one exercise, something that looks like baseball batting practice” (NY Times).  Parents are hoping that by starting their kids early in sports training they will become a future all-star.  Both the NY Times article and the Book of Courtier emphasizes that in order to excel in any kind of situation one must start early and learn the rules and principles from the best available source.

NY Times: