Modern Princes Essay

The Prince, which was a political treaty written by Niccolo Machiavelli in the year 1513 but was published in 1532. The book was an illustration of the relationship between politics and moral values. It showed the usage of political power and how to maintain the powers in the western world. It projected the political scenario of Italy in the Renaissance period and the use of political power in handling situations. The book emphasized how to acquire, expand, and effectively use the power to run a state and it justified the ruling by force and not by law. His work possesses three concepts namely, virtue, occasion, and fortune. According to him, the concept of virtue revolved around the skills, ability, and ingenuity of a leader to rule the state with the showcasing of power. The concept of occasion dealt with the specific time period of rule, when the leader had the ruled by showcasing his power. Finally, the concept of fortune is defined as the good luck that possessed over the leader during his powerful ruling period. The work of Machiavelli was a classic picture of the ruling system in politics by power and not by law.

Here we focus our discussion on the application of these three concepts of Machiavelli on the present political scenario of the US in the context of two modern princes, Barack Obama and George W. Bush. We analyze their ruling period under the light of the three concepts of Machiavelli specified in his book ‘The Prince’. (Machiavelli)     

Barack Obama

Barack Obama is the present and the 44^th President of the United States and had created history with his election as the President. He was the first Afro-American who got elected as the President of America and took over the throne from the former president George. W. Bush. He had a multiracial heritage owing to his Kenyan father and American mother and started his work as a community organizer. Then he became an attorney of Civil rights, a professor of constitutional law, a Senator of State, and then a Senator of U.S. The victory of Obama was celebrated throughout the world because of his ethical strands in the unstable political scenario of the US. He assured the citizens of the US on account of the transparency in the Government dealings and educational reforms so that every child in the US gets a proper education. He also promised about easily accessible and affordable health facilities to all American citizens, which generated very high hopes among the public of the US. His technique of rule is subjected to the constitutional law of the US and it is completely contrasting to the concepts established by Machiavelli in his work, ‘The Prince’. The concept of virtue surely goes well with the personal skills of Obama as he is very efficient in his work and possesses the necessary ability to run the US Government. In the context of the occasion, it can be said that when Barack Obama was elected as the President of the US, the country was running through an unstable economy and was facing huge threats from recession but Obama, had skillfully controlled the State with the constitutional laws. The concept of fortune did not really match with the success of Obama as he achieved this position owing to his hard work and interpersonal skills. (Barack Obama)     

George. W. Bush

George W. Bush was the former and the 43rd President of the United States. Before he became President, he was the Governor of the State of Texas and has a rather controversial ruling period. The most significant incident that happened during his rule was the 9/11 terrorist attack when a large number of Americans were killed. Bush had responded well to the attack and developed a comprehensive strategy for the protection of the Country and his countrymen. He established a Department of Homeland Security which served as the internal protective force and with the help of global coalitions removed the violent rulers of Afghanistan and Iraq who had become constant threats to the US. His strategies were not hugely supported by other nations and portrayed him as a leader who rules by showcasing his power. Thus, the rule of George Bush is more closely related to the concept of Machiavelli who also focused his work on the basis of showcasing power. The concept of virtue matches well with the character of George Bush as he was quite capable of skillfully managing his men and had the ability to conquer and rule. In the context of the occasion, the ruling period of George Bush had numerous ups and downs but he powerfully handled the crisis situations and completed his tenure of Presidency. The fortune of Bush was not that good because the terrorists chose his period of rule to attack America and presented him the most difficult period of Presidency.   (George Bush)

Conclusion

So, from the above discussion and the application of the concepts of Machiavelli, it can be said that the relationship between politics and morality depends on the political scenario of the era, and at present; the powerful dictatorship is not accepted globally. Hence, the present generation of leaders should have more focus on morality and ethics rather than showcasing power.

Works Cited:

Barack Obama, The White House, Washington. Available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/barackobama (accessed on January 22, 2010)

George W. Bush, The White House, Washington. Available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewbush (accessed on January 22, 2010)

Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince, Cambridge University Press, 1988