The Characteristics of the Good Prince (Leader) Essay

The Characteristics of the Good Prince (Leader) - Essay Example As the word Machiavellian suggests, a modern prince needs to be cunning, deceitful and crude if need be (Niccolo, 2010). The Machiavellian claim answers the question of whether one should love or fear a leader. Machiavelli states that it would be better to be loved and feared, but the two cannot exist at ago (Niccolo, 2010). He says that it is, therefore, better to be feared because leaders need complete obedience from their people for them to completely govern. The vulnerability of the subject towards punishment makes him submit to the leader (Niccolo, 2010). With fear, people only reluctantly trust the leader hoping that the leader is concerned with their good. Some leaders prove their care for their people hence eventually gain trust and love whereas others are feared throughout their leadership. He says that love contains many rules, most of which may be broken by selfish men. Fear, on the other hand, lives long because people are afraid of punishment that would befall them when they rebel (Niccolo, 2010). This aspect of fear and love is important in todays politics whereby leaders tend to pursue either love or hatred especially during elections. Despite the fact that no leader is perfect, people fail to concentrate on the bad side of a good leader and only se his good side. A leader should however see to it that his people do not hate him. Hatred would only lead to the princes failure. He states that the peoples allegiance is a stronger shield than a fortress (Niccolo, 2010). The love of the people gradually grows to trust, which is of most advantage to the leader. Trust makes it easier for the prince to carry on executions without objection. The leader himself will feel less fear of being overthrown because of the mutual trust. A good leader should also ensure that he gains the support of his people. Unless he achieves this, it is easy for jealous competitors to overthrow the