(Source: "Machiavelli." Philosophy Pages. Web. 07 Nov. 2010. <http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/macv.htm>.)
The Machiavelli quote I think is most relevant in todays society is, " It's better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both" (Machiavelli). What this means to me is that when you are feared people will listen to you because the are afraid of you you will do to them. If you are not fear, but are loved then you will be too "soft hearted" and things will never get done. The part where it says, "if you cannot have both" means, you have to be feared by people but also be like and like your people. You have to find the balance between the two, and once you do, you will be a successful leader.
If Machiavelli had given advice to the Incas I think it would have been "before all else, be armed" (Machiavelli). This would have helped the Incas have a better chance of winning. If the Incas had this advice before entering into the square unarmed and unprepared they would have had a chance against the Pizarro and the Conquistadors. Advice Machiavelli would have given to Pizarro and the Conquistadors is, "People are fickle by nature, and it is easy to persuade them of something, but difficult to keep them persuaded" (Machiavelli). If Pizarro and his men knew this before conquering and defeating many societies then maybe he wouldn't have had to kill as many people. He could have found a way to convince the people and become a universal ruler of many societies instead of killing them all off.
The Machiavelli quote I think is most relevant in todays society is, " It's better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both" (Machiavelli). What this means to me is that when you are feared people will listen to you because the are afraid of you you will do to them. If you are not fear, but are loved then you will be too "soft hearted" and things will never get done. The part where it says, "if you cannot have both" means, you have to be feared by people but also be like and like your people. You have to find the balance between the two, and once you do, you will be a successful leader.
(Someone's Always Watching)
The quote I think that does not best represent leadership today is the quote where Machiavelli talks about how it doesn't matter how you get it, as long as you get it. I'm sure this happens in many situations, even I do it. However, when people in the US government do something like that, people catch it because the people of America are constantly watching and waiting for them to mess up. As soon as they are caught people use it as a reason to overthrow the government. Now it does matter how one gets it because it has to be approved by many other people before one can get what they want.If Machiavelli had given advice to the Incas I think it would have been "before all else, be armed" (Machiavelli). This would have helped the Incas have a better chance of winning. If the Incas had this advice before entering into the square unarmed and unprepared they would have had a chance against the Pizarro and the Conquistadors. Advice Machiavelli would have given to Pizarro and the Conquistadors is, "People are fickle by nature, and it is easy to persuade them of something, but difficult to keep them persuaded" (Machiavelli). If Pizarro and his men knew this before conquering and defeating many societies then maybe he wouldn't have had to kill as many people. He could have found a way to convince the people and become a universal ruler of many societies instead of killing them all off.
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