Overview
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was the Renaissance leader on political power and the statecraft. He was employed by the Florentine Republic in 1498 and went on many journeys to France and Germany to witness the statecraft in those countries first hand. However with all his experience Machiavelli was born at the wrong time because he had lived in Italy during the time of the French and Spanish war he was not able to accomplish much politically. Nonetheless in 1512, after the Spanish took Italy, and the Medici family was reinstated in Florence, Machiavelli was expelled and lived the rest of his life in reflection and thought upon politics and the power that it holds. It was likely because of his exile that most people know of him because it was during this time that he wrote The Prince (1513). A book on political power and how to maintain it.
The Prince
Most of his political interest came from the first hand experience of the political problems in Italy and the rest mostly came from ancient Roman politics. It was from these two sources that he wrote The Prince, and it was in The Prince that wrote about the obtaining of and preserving of political prominence and power.
Until Machiavelli the general consensus was that a ruler obtained power and maintained power by doing all things based off of good morals and ethics and for the good of the people. This made sense because he would be able to keep the masses happy and satisfied with their ruler. In fact the morals of a good ruler was usually founded in Christianity. This, however, wasn't the way that Machiavelli operated. He believed, and wrote in The Prince, that, assuming every ruler understood the basis of human nature that is that humanity was self-centered, rulers were to first and foremost preserve their own power, and were to base all of their decisions on achieving this goal. In fact his, "perfect ruler," was a man named Cesare Borgia, a man who had no limits when it came to achieving his goals. He was said to have been ruthless and self-preserving. His ultimate goal was to create a state in Italy for himself and he went to any means to do so. Because of The Prince that Machiavelli is pegged as one of the first men in history to abandon all morals and ethics to maintain political power and prominence.
Until Machiavelli the general consensus was that a ruler obtained power and maintained power by doing all things based off of good morals and ethics and for the good of the people. This made sense because he would be able to keep the masses happy and satisfied with their ruler. In fact the morals of a good ruler was usually founded in Christianity. This, however, wasn't the way that Machiavelli operated. He believed, and wrote in The Prince, that, assuming every ruler understood the basis of human nature that is that humanity was self-centered, rulers were to first and foremost preserve their own power, and were to base all of their decisions on achieving this goal. In fact his, "perfect ruler," was a man named Cesare Borgia, a man who had no limits when it came to achieving his goals. He was said to have been ruthless and self-preserving. His ultimate goal was to create a state in Italy for himself and he went to any means to do so. Because of The Prince that Machiavelli is pegged as one of the first men in history to abandon all morals and ethics to maintain political power and prominence.