Thomas Hobbes's and Machiavelli's political theories - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... This is contrary to the teaching of Machiavellian that denounced ruthlessness and manipulation as a way of gaining power to control the masses. Machiavelli insisted that one should earn power and not to inherit. However, in most parts of the world power has been inherited and revolved within a lineage. In his book the prince, Machiavelli unequivocally states how political power should be used for the benefit of the people and how that power can be maintained. He cites the examples from his personal experiences and those from the ancient texts. Whereas he did not talk about what qualities a leader should posses, Machiavelli was keen to indicate that any method engaged by the ruler should factor in the fact that the state of the mind is not altered. In this regard, he did set the limits within which he believed gaining controlled should be checked. It will thus be construed that the cliche-the end justifies the means has been used in the most simplified manner considering the context of his philosophical statement. Pragmatism and realism were the pillars of his philosophy, he also understood that ideals were impossible partake on as ruler. The philosophical work of Machiavelli has immensely contributed and accounted for the political manipulation seen. ...
The head of the body in this case being the government that is charged with the responsibility to govern the people. In this case, the head and the body are expected to have coordination in which whatever the head does, the body must be aware of it through the transmitted effect or what may be referred to the trickledown effect. The head and the body are expected to have communication and when the head is ailing, the body too has to ail. This analogy was taken to the political scenario in which, what the government is doing has direct consequences to the people whom it is charged with the responsibility of governing. The implication the term body politics is to express the opinion that the people the government and the people are considered as one just like the body and the head do forms one thing. In some cases, sections of people have tried to redefine the term by saying that the term means exclusively the government alone. The intention of the statement is that a healthy government should have the capacity to make conscious focus just like a healthy body (Hobbes, and Martinich 108). The people are regarded as a stake in the context of the head and the body as proposed by Hobbes to the extent that they are construed to constitute what is critical in the society. Though this may not be seen as a naive way of looking at the matter, it should also be considered that at times the government do exist and operate whimsically on the wishes of the people. It is thus important to note that the people’s opinion about the government may have significant impact and that in the event that the peoples turn violent, the government will have to be disrupted in its daily operation. The cordial ...Download file to see next pagesRead More