Machiavelli's The Prince

Introduction

Machiavelli is seen as the ultimate proponent of might-makes-right political instrumentalism. In the history of Western political thought, few thinkers have been as influential or as controversial as the sixteenth century Florentine statesman Niccolò Machiavelli. The author of a wide-ranging collection of writings, Machiavelli was a true Renaissance man. He lived a political life of both practical and theoretical importance, while making an important contribution to Italian literature as well (Hörnqvist, 1-5).

Discussion on The Prince

In some ways Machiavelli's The Prince continues a long tradition of treatises that give advice to rulers. It discusses the relative merits of ...