Political Thought - Assignment Example

Political Thought Things Which Are Considered To Make a Good Society According To Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Dante and Machiavelli? According to Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Dante and Machiavelli, a good society is one; they believe is being governed by objective laws which are realistic and widely practiced in the society by human beings. This they meant to say that the society could not be considered perfect without understanding the laws which were placed there to govern human beings. Therefore, the laws which are objective to a society are those laws which should not allow citizens living in a society the privilege to challenge them as they are meant to govern individuals and not the other way round (Walsh, 2000: 89). Similarly, the philosophers also believes that a good leader is one who shows or posses the interest of the citizens at heart. Good leaders as described should be able to shows their ability to display their ethical judgments on different situations which requires them to make a decision concerning an action or those interest which are adequately defined in terms of power. Likewise, good leaders are those who are only concerned with issues of effective action as they should not be those who talk but are unable to accomplish successfully their roles and responsibilities to the society which chose them in different leadership seats. Moreover, they are also defined by their strong will to govern all resources under their jurisdiction because leaders without strong are always considered as failures that lack a sense of direction to what they are doing. Good leaders are also expected to display their intellectual capacity as they should be the ones to initiate projects which are developmental and resourceful to the both the majority and minority groups whom have selected him or have been placed under him with reference to how power is divided in a society. Good leaders are also expected to integrate realism with a concept adjudicating that the term is not fixed as popularly believed by many in the society. Good leaders should be able to shows their interest in leadership by not allowing their leadership to be affected or compromised under different situations or circumstances as that would point out that they lack the interest to serve as leaders in the different fields they are considered to be in charge in. This can only been achieved when leader aspiring to be considered as good leaders adopt certain aspects like communication which involve s them freely sharing their ideas and concerns with their opponents and those tasked under them for leadership purposes and formulating their interest in order to come with a tangible solution which is of benefit to all those involved. Therefore, good leaders are defined as those capable of compromising with others to achieve the desired effects while also establishing control between man and man. What Do They Think Goes Wrong With States? The philosophers also share a similar sentiment in which they believe that the state has lost its virtues. The virtues they point out through their different writings are political virtue and virtues which are known to flourish life. The believe that unlike in the ancient times where courage, prudence, temperance and justice were necessary which were considered to be very important in the politics, today the virtues are no longer being practiced in state as they have been completely changed with totally new or different ones (Machiavelli & Parks, 2009: 110). In addition, the virtues for flourishing life which were majorly essential and largely practiced in the past have totally adopted a different meaning as they do not currently share the meaning in the modern state today. The virtues were known to be love, faith and hope as they had really complimented such virtues of Romantics, socialism and nationalism which had reigned before. They served the sole purpose of perfecting the intelligence owned by human beings therefore making the society a better place to live in. However, the trend in the state today, has changed because the virtues are no longer being practiced and the meaning which they held before had been disbanded to replaced other meanings which are self centered and for the benefit of selected few in the society. A good example is that some minor virtues like honesty which were highly held in the society then was responsible for governing how the state functioned, but has since been changed as the state today does not take in high regards such a virtue making to be considered as a rotting society as integrity and sustainability has been completely shunned away by individuals in the state and by those leaders to govern us in different sectors of the state (Machiavelli & Parks, 2009: 104). What Has Gone Wrong With Their Own States? As for their states, the philosophers shares a perception that virtues which were strongly and aptly held did not pay those who were keen to practice them as the state itself was filled with bad citizens. The state condoned virtues which were believed to righteous yet men living in such states did not fully live their lives in accordance the virtue or laws put across to govern and guide them. Therefore, the philosophers consider the state to be hypocritical because laws put across to govern the code of things were not exactly followed because to those who were obedient and exercised good through their deeds were not paid handsomely for their goodness yet they ended up meeting their end as those who were prone to doing wrong in the society were not particularly keen on their actions being displayed to the public. Lessons Offered In Terms Of What Makes A Good Leader, Good State And Virtues Which Are Considered Necessary In Politics And What We Should Be On The Look Out For According to the philosophers, there are valuable lessons which are passed to us today in terms of what makes up a good ruler because they place emphasis on the importance of morality and interest in all actions taken or done by a leader. Therefore, as we learn from them, a good leader is not described by the amount of power or position he has, rather he is described by his ability to take the interest of others into heart and take actions which are neither discretionary of biased when dealing with others. Moreover, good leaders’ area adequately described by their will to competence to develop an interest to serve others while also practicing such elements like good communication with his servants and different individuals they happen to interact with. Secondly, through the philosophers, we also learn on the importance of virtues in politics. This is because, leaders are always the selected few chosen to govern or guide a group of individuals in the society. Therefore, good service can not be adequately delivered when a leader chosen to represent a people of group in the society is not virtuous or lacks the potential to display virtues which are generally accepted as norms in the society. A good example is that leader who is corrupt lacks the virtue of integrity therefore can not effectively accomplish his task in any leadership area given or bestowed on him (Dante, Esolen & Doré, 2005: 78). Likewise, a good state is adequately described by the ability of laws to followed and practiced effectively without taking them for granted. Irrespective, of a position being held by an individual in the society, the state should ensure that’ its laws are not biased and are effectively practiced without biasness or changed to suit the needs of the selected few living in it. Therefore, we should always be on the look out for such things like free, popular government and civic virtue in order to overcome egoistic virtues which are detrimental for the development of such things like stable state, good leaders or a society which is solely built on the foundations of good virtues. What Do They Tell Us, And What Do You Think About What They Have To Say For Us Today? The philosophers make an attempt to appeal to us about the common good and the problems which come along or are experienced in the attempt of looking for common good both in the society and among our leaders today. Likewise, they highlight to us that in order to maintain common good in society or any group of individuals, there is always a costs associated to such things and individuals who are keep in obtaining this must always be ready to bear the costs which are always considered to be much greater than those which are borne by others (Plato, . (1960: 56). Conclusion In conclusion, an ethic of common good has been particularly difficult to achieve in the society because many of those who are always faced with such are always quick to dismiss because of those which are associated in acquiring it in a society. However, all leaders, state and other institutions which are concerned with various issues ranging from economic and social issues should not be quick at dismissing the ethic common good because prosperity is only achieved in a society when the individuals accept the tedious process involved in acquiring the ethics. Moreover, ethics of common good are also extremely important in our society today as they perform the critical task of making us to reflect on broad questions concerning the kind of society we want to become and in process also defines ways and steps to use to reach the chosen direction. References Dante, A., Esolen, A. M., & Doré, G. (2005). Inferno. New York: Modern Library. Plato, . (1960). the Republic. Baltimore: Penguin Books. Machiavelli, N., & Parks, T. (2009). The prince. New York: Penguin Books. Aristoteles, ., & Lord, C. (2013). Aristotles Politics. Chicago [u.a.: Univ. of Chicago Press. Walsh, P. (2000). Cicero: On Obligations. Oxford: Oxford University Press . Read More