Machiavelli has widely been called the “father of modern political thought”.
His thoughts upon deception, the nature of the state, the need for a leader to avoid hatred and his innovative method of political study were revolutionary at their time of writing and are still applicable to modern politics.
Whilst it is true that his thoughts and hypothesis about politics are widely relevant to modern politics it must be remembered that Machiavelli lived in an age vastly different to the modern societies thus it is possible to question Machiavelli’s thoughts in relation to certain issues, specifically here religion. Overarching Machiavelli’s thoughts are still relevant to modern politics.
The best texts to study in analyzing Machiavelli’s relevance to modern politics are The Prince, as the text was intended as a guide to a political leaders (princes) morals and how the state should be ruled, and The Discourses as it is involving Machiavelli’s “political method and is a study of previous political history”.
Machiavelli describes The Prince as “The truth about surviving as a monarch, rather then recommending lofty moral ideals” (Fieser, 2003, web reference)
Thus if one can apply Machiavelli’s concepts to modern politics, Machiavelli’s thought can be regarded as relevant to modern politics. Continue reading Sample Essay on Politics