27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The First Business Book I have ever read, December 5, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Prince (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
Actually, this book about political theory is applicable to any organization, not just governmental. Niccolo Machiavelli was a very shrewd man. A book full of pearls such as "Whoever believes that with great men new services wipe out old injuries deceives himslef"; "Without opportunity their prowess would have been extinguished and without such prowess the opportunity would have come in vain"; "And here it has to be noted that men must either be pampered or crushed, because they can get revenge for small injuries but not for grievous ones"; "The first opinion that is formed of a ruler's intelligence is based on the quality of men he has around him"; "But as soon as you disarm your subjects you start to offend them" and many many others. I am glad I am writing this review because it has been such a long time since I went back to my small yellow book for reference.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Most Famous Book on Politics Ever Written., December 15, 2005
Anyone who picks up Machiavelli's "The Prince" holds in his hands the most famous book on politics ever written. Its closest rival might be Plato's "Republic," but that book discusses politics in the context of things above politics, and politics turns out to have a limited and subordinate place. In "The Prince" Machiavelli also discusses politics in relation to things outside of politics, but his conclusion is very different. Politics according to him is not limited by things above it, and things normally taken to be outside politics--the "givens" in any political situation--turn out to be much more under the control of politics than politicians, peoples, and philosophers have hitherto assumed. The renown of "The Prince" is precisley to have been the first and best book to argue that politics has and should have its own rules and should not accept rules of any kind or from any source where the object is not to win or prevail over others. Without hesitation or reservation, five stars.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptionally readable, April 17, 2008
Whatever your preconceived notion of this book is, it will be difficult to come away from it without a respect for the author's thoroughness and insight. The common disparagements against Machiavelli are not well supported by the text unless you are willing to nitpick his arguments.
The book is a treatise on how a ruler should gain, manage, and preserve power. He describes the various types of temporal powers a ruler may hold, and he describes the strategies that he thinks are necessary to maintain it for a long time. The book is full of examples from the past and careful analysis of the successes and failures of those rulers. From these examples, he derives his laws of conduct which forms the bulk of the book.
He receives the most criticism for his "ends justify the means" morality. To this point, he gives his critics only limited ammunition, though. The goal of a ruler, he argues, is to maximize the happiness of his subjects. This means peace, stability, freedom, and high standards of living. A ruler cannot provide these things if he is weak or antagonistic towards his subjects. So Machiavelli is arguing for a strong head of state, not a terrible one. All actions should be aimed at increasing the common good, even if sometimes it requires performing seemingly evil deeds. An action that seems immoral at the time (executing a mild troublemaker) may actually be beneficial in the long run (establishing rule of law and stability). The key to being a ruler is to know how to wield power justly, even if the wielding of it seems immoral at times.
For someone of his time, he does not place his trust heavily in God. Instead he seems to hold fast to the platitude that God helps those who help themselves. This is probably what his critics were quickest to glom onto. He presents a new morality based on power and removes God from the equation totally.
Reading the book now in the middle of the 2008 presidential race is perfect timing. Reading Machiavelli's admonishons and exhortations and then comparing them to the actions of the various candidates, you can get a totally different perspective on the maneuverings of each candidate.
This book is a great short read at anytime, but right now is probably the best chance to see how the practical application of Machiavelli's theories works out. An easy 5 stars.
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