The Governing Techniques Promoted By Socrates And Machiavelli

What is good and what is right? A comparison of the governing techniques promoted by Socrates and Machiavelli Prompt: Machiavelli lived during a time of uncertainty, political fragmentation, and violence. For him, a focus on how to create political power that is long-lasting is critical. Indeed, Machiavelli strives to create a political system that is not characterized by violence as the means to engage in politics. Socrates, too, lived during times of war and political transition. How would Socrates view Machiavelli’s concept of a Prince? Would he find that this Prince would lead to a political system of which he would be supportive? Socrates and Machiavelli may be coming from similar circumstances of political upheaval, but their†¦show more content†¦The rest of the world is not operating on a strict code of morality and thus â€Å"a prince who wants to maintain his state is often forced not to be good† (The Prince, pg. 77). Protection of the state requires that a ruler not always be faithful to a moral code. When discussing this moral code Machiavelli is referring to a religious—specifically a Christian —sense of morality. Christianity has been thoroughly entranced in politics and Machiavelli believes it could be partly responsible for the failure of states and princes in the past. Despite disliking religious morality, Machiavelli does not undervalue the importance of being perceived as faithful. Disrespecting morality publicly will create an evil image of the Prince, one that loses there support of the people, and â€Å"thus it is not necessary for a prince to have all the abovementioned qualities in fact, but it is indeed necessary to appear to have them† (pg. 70). The Prince should shed the code of Christianity and instead take up a new political-based morality. Political morality would promote the state, meaning doing the right thing would be doing what will help the state the most. For Socrates doing the right thing is simply doing what is good, which he believes would eventually lead to a prosperous society. His ideal ruler would be highly moral and highly religious. Though Socrates does label his religious beliefs private, he admits that they will impact the public and the politicalShow MoreRelatedBranches of Philosophy8343 Words   |  34 Pagesof Kues, Giordano Bruno, Francis Bacon and Telesius. This coincided with a revival of magic, hidden ways of knowing and mastering nature (in Pico and Marsilio Ficino for example [9]). Ethical and political philosophy was revived by the work of Machiavelli and in the utopias of Thomas More, Tommaso Campanella and Francis Bacon. Within Christianity itself, these new movements dovetailed closely with the Reformation. [edit] Early modern philosophy (c. 1600 – c. 1800) Main article: Early modern philosophyRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 PagesAccounting at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He is an expert on the design and implementation of strategic cost systems. He was a founder of the activity-based cost system movement and is an expert in Japanese cost management techniques such as target and Kaizen costing. He has authored several books, seventy articles, and fifty teaching cases. He is a frequent contributor to the Journal of Cost Management. James Jianxin Gong is an assistant professor in the Department of AccountancyRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesThrough Work Redesign 130 Eliminating Anticipatory Stressors Through Prioritizing, Goal Setting, and Small Wins 132 Developing Resiliency 134 Physiological Resiliency 136 Psychological Resiliency 139 Social Resiliency 143 Temporary Stress-Reduction Techniques 144 SKILL ANALYSIS 147 Cases Involving St ress Management 147 The Turn of the Tide 147 The Case of the Missing Time 150 SKILL PRACTICE 155 Exercises for Long-Term and Short-Run Stress Management The Small-Wins Strategy 155 Life-Balance Analysis 156