Great Political Leaders - Essay Example

Machiavelli’s work and legacy bring out some meaningful conclusions when interpreting his political ideas about being great political leaders in varied ways. 

The book of Machiavelli, the prince is a book that reveals the political reality of modern leaders. His political ideologies cannot be comprehended before a clear understanding of who Machiavelli was and also his motivations, life experience, and eventually his childhood dreams of becoming a political leader. His key aspect in his lifetime was the desire for political office. While at the age of 29, Machiavelli got an opportunity to work as a secretary in Florence and this is the time he started traveling across Italy for diplomatic missions. After Machiavelli was overthrown from Florence, he decided to write about the qualities of a prince.

In his book of Prince, Machiavelli reveals the quality of a prince and discusses varied ins that a leader should do to lead effectively in his nation. First, a leader should the ire right people, get advice from others, and deal with opinions effectively. Machiavelli feels that a great leader should hire quality and successful ministers and servants whom people will depend on, and they should meet the interest of the nation (Machiavelli, Skinner and Price, 1988). He further suggests that these ministers and servants should perform significant things that will enable them to be supported. The leaders should keep their ministers and servants honest, kind and share with them honors since they cannot stand alone without them. In this way, they can trust one another and work effectively towards meeting the needs of their people.

Secondly, Machiavelli also reveals that for one to become a great leader, he or she should be loved, feared, or hated. In case a leader wants to be successful, he can either be loved or hated since both do not go hand in hand. A great leader should choose between the two, but Machiavelli argues that it is better for the leader to be feared than to be loved (Machiavelli, Skinner and Price, 1988). This is because love may contribute to scandals and dishonesty than fear, which comes with punishment. People love or fear depending on their will, but despite being feared, a leader should ensure that no one hates him or her. Furthermore, Machiavelli emphasizes that a great leader should inspire fear in a manner that can win love from people to avoid being detested (Machiavelli, Skinner and Price, 1988). In this case, he reveals the significance of having people’s generosity and support to avoid pervasive political activism.

Lastly, he also revealed that virtue and Fortuna are significant aspects in the creation and maintenance of political power. Machiavelli acknowledges virtue, which may include wisdom, strength, justice, effective decision-making, skills, honesty, and prowess as vital in determining success. He also argues that Fortuna, which means the chance or luck also plays significant aspects in political success (Machiavelli, Skinner and Price, 1988). These two aspects can ring about success; thus making one great and successful political leader.