Importance of Niccolo Machiavelli

Considered one of the first philosophers of Modernity, Nicholas Machiavelli has left a particular and relevant legacy culture to Western society which, starting in the fifteenth century, began to observe profound changes that could no longer be turned back. His main work, "The Prince", published in 1531, would become from that moment until today one of the most important writings of modern societies.

A birth at the right time and place to go down in history

If we can say anything about the beginning of Machiavelli's life, we must point out that his arrival in this world was marked by by the star since it saw the light for the first time in a small town near the Italian city of Florence, at the height of the Renaissance. This motion cultural and intellectual was perhaps one of the most significant of Humanity and represented very transcendental transformations for the life of human societies.

From his youth, Machiavelli was immersed in a cultural environment of debate, exchange of ideas and ideological positions, full for the growth of the intellect and for the creation of writings of importance. Already in Florence he was able to get closer to the Medici family, one of the most important and powerful families in the city and in all of Europe.

Under his wing, Machiavelli devoted himself both to public functions and to the writing of texts that would allow him to establish himself as one of the first political thinkers of the West.

The Prince and his legacy to modern politics

It is clear that one of Machiavelli's main achievements was to condense with such force and power his particular ideas about policy and government in the famous text called "The Prince". This work, easy and quick to read, is a compendium of the main theories of the philosopher, who was in charge of pointing out between the lines of his text that the government of a city must be carried out by someone powerful, strong and with decision. This was for him the only way in which well-being and order could be achieved.

In this work, Machiavelli also allows himself to establish that the end justifies the means, since he points out that rulers should be feared as long as they are respected and no one questions their power. All these definitions would serve at the time to establish what we know as modern States, that is to say, a complex structure of power that is based on the use of public force to maintain order and ensure, especially, the maintenance of prosperous activities, whether economic or intellectual.

Despite the value that these writings have for us today, Machiavelli's contemporaries did not they recognized his talent and the thinker was arrested, tortured and subjected to torture for accusing him of treason to the Medici

His death went unnoticed and whatever recognition or protection he once had was lost in the history, paradoxically at the hands of people of power exactly like the ones he celebrated in his political texts.

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