Is Machiavelli a Realist or Idealist
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
Is Machiavelli a Realist or Idealist?
It has been stated that Niccolo Machiavelli is the founder of the science of politics. Indeed, "The Prince" and "The Discourses" detail and outline the foundation of leadership and establish a framework for future leaders and political representatives to grasp and practice. Machiavelli believes in maintaining the state and maintaining power and stability. Thus, maintaining power leads to the security of a nation and the security of the leader of the respective nation. As remarkable and groundbreaking as Machiavelli's writings are, one has to wonder if Machiavelli was an idealist or a realist? Can one successfully argue that Machiavelli was a strictly an idealist and not a realist or vise versa? The suggestion that Machiavelli was both an idealist and realist is closer to the truth than trying to label him under one stringent ideology. In fact, Machiavelli combined both political ideologies in most of his concepts in "The Prince" and "The Discourses." Machiavelli's concepts and ideas had to be considered completely radical in its time...