Analyze, discuss, and interpet Machiavelli's Art of War - Essay Example

In this case, through detailed discussion and analysis of the aspects of war, one can apply the theories, mores, virtues, and principles, to that of the nation’s affair and consequently to civilian life. Military and State Since the problem of an ideal society or state has already been exhaustively discussed by Aristotelian and Socratic philosophers; For Machiavelli, the problem that he would like to delve on is how to expand and maintain the power of the state, which must be ordered for the benefit of the greater good of the people.

To answer this, Machiavelli always would look back at history i.e. Rome, Sparta, Greece, and discovered a very important pattern—that powerful empires emerge out of violent victories. And it is through this premise that he patterned his ideals of leadership as characterized by his ‘Prince.’ “For men change their rulers willingly, hoping to better themselves and this hope induces them to take up arms against him who rules” (Machiavelli, “The Prince”). Ergo, one of the many important points that could be derived from “The Art of War” is that military leadership is synonymous to civil leadership.

Because war is innate and inevitable as man is in constant conflict with himself, political objectives would be the defining force and or limitation of it. War is fought because of political motives—which again reinforces another premise that Machiavelli made—that civil and military life is inseparable. That the way we function—the mores, principles, and standards that we apply in the military is also applicable or could also govern civil actions. For instance, the discipline of the soldiers could be instilled to workers; the essence of always being prepared for battle—stability under pressure, is a mindset that could be adopted in civilian affairs to be able to handle pressures of everyday life.

Military as an Expression of Power Another important point that Machiavelli made is that military capabilities of a nation are the direct expression of power. The prince, to be an effective and powerful leader must also have an effective army. To prove his point, he again drew example from history “Rome remained free four hundred years while armed: Sparta eight hundred: Many other Cities have been dis-armed, and have been free less than forty years.” If a nation does not have an effective army, it must hire foreigners to fight its battle or for it to have someone defending its borders and citizens.

But Machiavelli also warned that hiring foreigners for military could pose more dangers, as compared to maintaining your own, as these people could easily corrupt the citizens. When a nation has its own military, it “has not other fear except of its own Citizens” (Machiavelli, “Art of War”). Military Strategy and Tactics vis-a-vis Politics According to Sun Tzu, “the art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which