The book the Prince by Machiavelli provides a wide variety of characters a prince should embody as well as his behaviors to be hardliner, to be feared instead of loved if he cannot be both, to be evil if something forces him to be, “for a man who wishes to act entirely up to his professions of virtue soon meets with what destroys him among so much that is evil”. He remarks that a prince should be cruel rather than merciful, stingy instead of generous; he also advocates that it is better to break promises if those promises are against one´s interest. So, if I consider this features Machiavelli depicts and affirms a political leader should have, I must say that he is wrong and I do not agree with him. A political leader, I mean a president in our modern democratic societies cannot be a person who chooses deception instead of loyalty to the electorate who voted for him upholding his ideas. A president cannot prefer being feared and cruel in his words or actiosn as it could give way to great disasters if a society feels threatened and deceived by its own leader. So, to the best of my knowledge a leader should be virtuous if we define this term as piety, generosity, compassion. That is to say, a leader should be led by those characteristics when playing an effective role for the common good of the citizens of the country he rules. He should achieve the goals set guided by virtue. Otherwise, a president or any leader should not be effective or lead and effective administration by implementing tough measures that could result in a popular dissatisfaction. Consequentially, I think that effectiveness of policies, measures, and any decision made by a politician should go hand in hand with virtue, given the fact that virtue is more important when guiding a society
Answer:
The Prince by Machiavelli outlines a wide variety of characteristics that a prince should embody, as well as his behaviors. As a hardliner, he is feared rather than loved if he cannot be both, and he is evil if compelled to be, "for he who wishes to act entirely according to his profession of virtue soon meets what destroys him among all that is evil." It is better for a prince to be cruel than merciful, stingy than generous, and to break promises if they are against one's interests. I must say that Machiavelli is wrong and I do not agree with the qualities he describes and affirms a political leader should have. Today's modern democratic societies cannot have a president who chooses deception over loyalty to the electorate who voted for him to uphold his ideas. It is unwise for a president to act in a cruel manner and to be feared, as this could result in great disasters if a society feels deceived and threatened by its own leader. In my opinion, a leader should be virtuous if we define this as piety, generosity, and compassion. This means that a leader should be guided by these traits when performing an effective role for the common good of the citizens of the country he rules. By virtue, he should achieve his goals. The president or any other leader cannot be effective or lead an effective administration by implementing tough measures that could result in public dissatisfaction. Since virtue is more important when guiding a society, I believe that effective policies, measures, and any decision made by a politician should go hand in hand with virtue.
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