The Prince and the Hardball

Niccolo Machiavelli dedicated his practical guide for ruling, “The Prince,” to Lorenzo de’ Medici, the reputable ruler of Florence who was thought to have been capable of re-establishing Italy’s pride, honor, and glory. “The Prince” is basically a ‘political guide’ that teaches how to govern and develop the welfare of the state. His ideas are reflected by Chris Matthew’s informative strategy guide on modern day politics, “Hardball.” Both authors illustrate the different approaches and tactics in gaining power and “keeping a cool head” while dealing with infinite encounters with internal (and external) issues/dilemmas.
“People are by nature changeable. It is easy to persuade them about some particular matter, but it is hard to hold them to that persuasion. Hence it is necessary to provide that when they no longer believe, they can be forced to believe.” (Chapter 6,”The Prince”) Throughout his work, Machiavelli describes human nature as a justification to political action, both fair and harsh. He believes that man is born evil, and that a Prince has no obligation to keep his promises to his citizens since they would do the same to him. “At this point one may note that men must be either pampered or annihilated. They avenge light offenses; they cannot avenge severe ones; hence, the harm one does to a man must be such as to obviate any fear of revenge.” (Chapter 3, “The Prince”) In this quote, Machiavelli uses logical reasoning to overcome ethical and moral considerations. He states that a prince must realize that he can either be benevolent and compassionate to his people, ruling in a lenient way; or to rule like a destructive tyrant, annihilating all those that are and would possibly turn against him and rebel. He strongly suggests that feelings of pity and compassion are useless and that although destructive rule may cause even more resentment among the people, it must be used if necessary and the consequences are clearly not severe. This idea is also replicated...