“The Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) lived in Renaissance Florence in the 15-16th century, during the time when the Medici ruling family gradually went out of power especially after the collapse of their Medici Bank in 1494.
In the midst of the chaos that ensued, Machiavelli observed from his position as secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence (1498 to 1512) all the political deceptions, treacheries and crimes occurring in front of him, and eventually wrote this book in 1513 that is filled with his ideas of a perfect leader in the context to deal with this political wave in Florence.
It became a polarizing hit when it was finally published in 1532 five years after his death, where at one side people saw that for the first time there’s a practical political book that directly dwell on realpolitik without mentioning the likes of religion and allegiance (and written in Italian as well, rather than the customary Latin). But the other side of the argument saw it as a ruthless book that give advice to govern people with the absence of morality (if needed) or to justify any means necessary to reach the goals. And both sides of the argument are correct.
It is one of those chicken-and-egg dilemma, where the book was written to observe the nastiness that had already happening, but it is also accused to be the inspiration for the nasty political maneuvers ever since. There’s even a term for this political ruthlessness: Machiavellian.
But of course The Prince is much more than just this. With many lessons from the likes of Roman Empire, Persia, Plato, Cicero, and others such as Alexander the Great, the book covers the subject of princedom, on conquering many different types of new kingdoms or states, conquering new states with their own rules already in place, conquest by virtue, conquest by fortune, conquest by crime, becoming an elected prince, how to judge the strength of principalities, ecclesiastical principate, on military and defense, the qualities of a prince, a prince’s duty in military matters, on reputation of a prince, the morality of a prince, how a prince can avoid contempt and hatred, and the prudence of a prince in various matters.
Normally old texts that have been quoted so many times are usually dull in its original form, compared with the new books that quoted them. But this is the exception, as I find The Prince to be very well written and have clear ideas and fitting examples from its time. And just like other well written classics, such as The Art of War by Sun Tzu and The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, this book is a short but concise one. Perfect for game changer ideas to spread.
THE CHAOS THEORY 