Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. Specifically, Term Paper

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It basically approves of just about any behavior as long as the company survives, and that is music to many people's ears.

Machiavelli's advice has little to do with "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." He writes as a man of science and logic, rather than a man of ethics and morality. Machiavelli felt a prince or leader stood above others, and so, was above moral judgment, because his actions were always to maintain and control power for the good of the people, and they would always be seen as honorable, no matter what. How he maintained power really did not matter in Machiavelli's eyes. He writes, "Let a prince therefore act to conquer and to maintain the state; his methods will always be judged honourable and will be praised by all; for ordinary people are always deceived by appearances and by the outcome of a thing" (Machiavelli 60). Today, that is no longer the case. People question ethics and morality, and expect their leaders to act honorably, rather than simply maintaining power at the cost of others.

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Some of the advice the book offers is sound, but most of it is objectionable to many modern, ethical readers. Machiavelli wrote during a time of political turmoil, and his ideas were controversial even after he first wrote them. It seems however, that his ideas are touched with cynicism and lack any kind of emotional or ethical empathy. Ethical decision-making involves making the right decision for everyone, but also considering the impact of the decision. Machiavelli shrugs off the impact, noting that the powerful will be seen as honorable no matter what. This is no longer the case, and most people demand ethical behavior combined with good decision making. Thus, Machiavelli's ideas leave a bad taste to this reader, and ethics and morality seem more important than maintaining ultimate control and power. There is enough evil in the world without condoning evil actions to justify the end......

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