Machiavelli's Concept of the Prince Essay

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Lao-Tzu's concept of Tao Te Ching

The Lao-Tzu's concept of Tao Te Ching is fundamental to leadership and management in various societies of the world. Lao Tzu exemplifies various responses and characteristics that should be dominant in every leader. As compared to the modern approaches used by Machiavelli, Lao Tzu has increasingly ushered a number of steps that should be used by a leader in relaying justice and equitable living. According to Lao-Tzu's concept of Tao Te Ching, a ruler is supposed to be wise and with the intention of manipulating the public. Lao Tzu proposes that any ruler should exemplify cases of unselfishness, sage, and corporate thinking skills where he or she thinks of his people as a priority. According to Lao-Tzu's concept of Tao Te Ching, leaders should have the ability to appear invisible and quietly in order to lead people through minute interventions that have no conflict in nature.

According to Lao Tzu, leadership is about taking the superior hand in order to have the fragments are acquainted to the mechanisms of existence and dominance. In most cases, it becomes imperative to have a superior leader who follows a given platform of operation and hence gets things done. According to Lao-Tzu's concept of Tao Te Ching, leader superiority is a measure of how a leader imparts responsibility and delivery of instructions to its subordinate members and workers. Lao-Tzu's concept of Tao Te Ching exemplifies various connotations required of a leader who takes after the safety and rule of a nation. In most cases, it becomes easy for an individual to be a superior and hence have the other departments of growth and production live within a specified body of knowledge and skills. According to Lao Tzu, many leaders in the world are superior. This facet coincides with the initial steps taken by Machiavelli when he asserted that leaders should strive to live and act within the dictates of law, regulations, and ethical universals.

Lao Tzu exemplifies that leaders should have an innate responsibility of using little efforts and motions in order to achieve the set objectives. Leaders should be positioned to lead as an example. With equitable demonstration of leadership qualities and assignments, a leader will be able to impart change on an individual or group of people. According to Lao Tzu, it is import for a political leader to be wise and act according to the rules and regulations. Such steps will enable people to be viewed as the first in the list of priorities. Moreover, Lao-Tzu's concept of Tao Te Ching advocates for anarchism and no use of force or coerce attributes for governance. This is contrary to the last thoughts supported by Machiavelli.

As advocated by Machiavelli in his writings of "The Prince," Lao Tzu discourages moral knowledge in leadership and dominance. Machiavelli supported the idea of a primitive and moral society. Lao Tzu exemplifies that moral teachings are responsible for diverting one from Tao. Moreover, Lao Tzu notes that morality is a good facet in any political movement. Nonetheless, it becomes easy for any organization or political movement to live under ethical and moral teachings without involving other attributes that forge for a communal existence of the components of a political movement.

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Such a perception is similar to Machiavelli's perception that a leader should be cruel and unethical at some instances in order to manage certain circumstances that threaten the existence and stability of the state at hand (Laozi & Lee, 2000).

Lao-Tzu's concept of Tao Te Ching distinguishes the need to have knowledge of social distinctions to be eradicated. For instance, such knowledge includes facets like good and bad, moral and immoral, desirable and undesirable, and many others. According to Lao Tzu, such distinctions make people have wrong desires that might destabilise a state. Desire leads to competition and conflicts in the society. Such a move by the Lao-Tzu's concept of Tao Te Ching indicates less superiority of the ethical connotations and laws. These laws and regulations regulate human interactions in a political realm. According to Lao Tzu, human knowledge to discriminate things leads to fraud, murder, and theft. Therefore, such knowledge should be eradicated in the human natural existence. Moreover, even if such a move is against the ethics and laws, it should be done with an immediate effect.

Lao-Tzu's concept of Tao Te Ching elaborates on the need to have food leadership that relates to good personal relationship. According to Lao Tzu, "The wise rule by emptying hearts and stuffing bellies, by weakening ambitions and strengthening bones, if men lack knowledge and desire, then clever people will not try to interfere if nothing is done, then all will be well." This relays how the superior dominates leadership. According to the classic Chinese philosophers, it is supremely beneficial for every political leader to be in cordial relationship with his subjects.

A leader should exercise aspects of passivity in ruling. A ruler should be a ruler and not a straightforward demonstrator of leadership. Such a move by Lao Tzu shows that a leader should be positioned to respond to the changes of nature and existence. A leader should be able to embrace change of a whole nation and not his personal life alone. In cases where extremes occur, it is tremendously beneficial for a leader to love knowledge and discipline of people and respect the existence of power.

One of the influential connotations by Tao Tzu relays on the change being brought to the world. According to Lao-Tzu's concept of Tao Te Ching, a ruler should influence change. Such influences should be comparative to use of force or any other method that ensures change among people. Lao Tzu reiterates on the need to have a solid foundation that does not restore change without influencing the immediate people. Steering of change does not depend on the pathway and activities involved. Change should be a later happening to be embraced by all the people. In most cases, it becomes less significant to have change that has not been felt by the people. Therefore, Lao Tzu explains that every ruler should be able to steer events and people no matter what they involve. Autonomy is paramount at some stage of influencing change. Lao Tzu involves the ideas and perceptions of Confucius and Mencius (Demi, 2007)......

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