What does Machiavelli mean by this simple quote?
" BEFORE ALL ELSE, BE ARMED" To me that means u should e armed before ANYTHING else including laws that make being armed illegal. He is clearly saying its more important to have it on you that its more imortant than anything . All else includes laws that say its illegal. isnt that what he means? What an awesome man. Super intelligent.
What is the low down on Machiavelli?
According to the source I've listed below, he "Revolutionized political philosophy and shocked idealists by adopting a purely secular, scientific perspective toward statecraft; left out questions of morality altogether in order to focus, reporterlike, on what was, not what should have been" "His political views are more acceptable in our era than in any since his own; nowadays anyone who disagrees with him is assumed to be hypocritical or naive. "
Does Machiavelli deserve his negative reputation, or is he and his works, especially The Prince, misunderstood
The purpose of the "Prince" was prove the Evil of Monarchy. Niccolo was a die hard supporter of the Republic, he was attempting to show that to stay in power any monarch had to be evil, and thus, by implication, that monarchy itself had to be evil. He picked the most reprehensible example he could think of, Cesare Borgia, a man he hated, to be his model of a prince to that end. More, "The Prince" was supposed to be one of two volumes, the second "The Republic" was to provide the contrast showing the proper way a state should be governed. Unfortunately, Machiavelli died before the second work was done. Machiavelli's reputation, a thoroughly undeserved one, is based on the position that to acknowledge a viewpoint exists is to advocate it. It is the same as claiming that every who says Hitler was anti-Semitic must be advocating anti-Semitism. The trouble is that most people are committed to the "every-one knows" position. Everyone knows that Machiavelli was evil, everyone knows that Richard 3 was evil and deformed, at one time everyone knew that the world was flat and that germs couldn't exist. Clearly if "everyone knows it", it must be true.
Why did Machiavelli believe that republics are superior to monarchies?
In The Discourses, Machiavelli describes 3 major forms of government. These three major forms of government, because of their flaws, would always degenerate into three corrupted forms.You asked specifically about The Monarchy in relation to The Republic, so I’ll describe them both and then explain why Machiavelli saw The Republic as superior.The MonarchyThe Bib is a nice touch. Probably should’ve been made out of something that deflects guillotines, but hey.The Monarchy is a form of government where there is only one ruler, such as a king or queen.Unfortunately, under one ruler, power may go to their head. Needless luxuries, killing people for funsies, appointing a horse as a senator…If the crappy ruler is taken out of rule, the people may elect a ruler that is wise and just, rather than strong and brave.BUTThis brings us to road block #2.Although King Awesomicus Rex might be the best king to have ever been a king, he will die eventually. When King Awesomicus does die, he would have to have one of his children take the throne. But Awesomicus II sucks. He isn’t like his father at all.So no matter what, these types of governments eventually develop into Tyrannies, and no one likes those.Now, moving on to…The RepublicShould look pretty familiar.So at this point, Machiavelli has basically described why the other three forms of government he talks about suck.Monarchies develop into Tyrannies, Aristocracies develop into Oligarchies, and Democracies develop into Anarchies.Machiavelli uses Rome as a prime example of a Republic.Consuls, to serve as the monarchial power.The Senate, to serve as the aristocratic power.The People, to serve as the democratic power.With these three powers in balance, the Republic would prove to run smoother than any of the other three alone.TLDR:Machiavelli saw The Republic as superior to The Monarchy simply because The Republic was balanced, while The Monarchy was not.
Where have we got proof the Tupac isn't dead?
This was taken well after his "death" http://www.google.com/gwt/x?site=images&... Edit: This too. http://www.alleyezonme.com/alive2pac.htm...