Welcome!
How has the summer assignment been going:)
Any success finding contemporary leaders to dissect through Machiavelli's lens? If so, please share your person (and what source you referenced)here and some of your thoughts for your classmates. We'll be checking in, so let us know if there is a question.
Keep it brief. See you soon.
ED and DT
posted by erdecker @ 2:56 PM
30 comments
30 Comments:
My article comes from the September 13th issue of Time. In Pres Obama's speech about the end of combat in Iraq, he states that 50,000 troops will remain and Vice Pres Biden will "ride herd over the whole process." According to Machiavelli, "A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules..." He would strongly disagree with Pres Obama's decision to put Biden in charge for if Biden makes any mistakes, Obama will still take the blame. Therefore, Obama should be watching over the whole process.
OOOPPSSSS!!!! First Post was Taylor Thompson
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-03/politics/mideast.peace.talks_1_israeli-settlements-settlement-freeze-netanyahu?_s=PM:POLITICS
My article was written on CNN on September 3rd. It is about the disagreement between the Palestinian and Israeli governments over Israeli settlements expanding into what was once Palestinian territory. The Israeli prime minister will not extend a freeze on expanding settlements. Machiavelli states, "[the] superior expedient is to establish settlements in one or two places; these will, as it were, fetter the state to you." Both parties in this contemporary disagreement are well aware of this, and that Israel's power in the area will be much more firmly secured with more settlements. Thus, the Palestinian government, (as well as the U.S.) government, is trying to curb it.
I found an article from the June 24 edition of the Wall Street Journal about President Obama's decision to dismiss General McCrystal. In the article it says that McCrystal mocked the VP and said that the president was "uncomfortable with military leaders and initially unengaged on defense policy." Machiavelli says that "it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities...but it is very necessary to appear to have them." Therefore, Machiavelli would agree with Obama's decision to dismiss McCrystal because he hurt the appearance of the president by saying that he was not engaged in the war.
Excellent connections so far! Clearly, you are looking through a Machiavellian lens. Once we get a little deeper (read: more responses), we'll discuss the potential value -- or harm -- of this leadership model.
In the article "Obama Takes a Crack at Drug Reform" published in the September issue of The Nation, Ethan Nadelmann discusses Obama's choice to sign the Fair Sentencing Act into law. The Fair Sentencing Act overrides the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 by increasing the amount of crack cocaine dealt that can result in a five year sentence from five to 28 grams and dismissing the minimum sentence of five years for posession. The previous laws disproportionally sentenced African Americans even though the majority of crack users and sellers are not minorities.
Machiavelli would approve of Obama's drug reform because he is siding with the masses by creating more fair punishments for them. Machiavelli says that a ruler should favor the masses because their opinion determines his success.
"Well-orgnaized states and wise princes have always taken great pains to... satisfy the people and keep them content; this is one of the most important tasks a prince must undertake" (105).
My article was written on The Daily Star - Lebanon News website on May 10th, and was then posted on the website Jihad Watch, where I found it. The article is about Lebanese President Michel Sleiman's refusal to disarm Hizbulluh. Machiavelli stated that "there was never a new prince who has disarmed his subjects; rather when he has found them disarmed he has always armed them, because, by arming them, those arms become yours, those men who were distrusted become faithful, and those who were faithful are kept so..." President Sleiman was quoted as saying "To demand now, in this regional atmosphere full of dangers and the drumbeats of war that Israel is banging everyday, and before we reach an agreement on a national defense strategy to protect Lebanon, we cannot and must not tell the resistance ... 'Give us your weapons..." The President, by allowing Hizbulluh to remain armed, garners their loyalty thus supporting Machiavelli's argument to ensure the loyalty of subjects by trusting them with arms.
My article was originally published on Reuters AlertNet on September 1, 2010.
In it is a summary of President Obama's Oval Office Speech regarding the war in Iraq and his plans for the withdrawal of the troops.
Machiavelli states that, "-there is nothing more difficult to take in hand ... than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things,"
This parallels the fact that one of the many reasons former President Bush invaded Iraq was to implement a democratic society; however, this radical change in a former dictatorship was a challenge.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/04/AR2010090403059.html
The article i found in the September 5th edition of The Washington post is about the transfer of North Korea's political power from Kim Jong Il to his youngest son Kim Johg Eul. According to the article Il is focusing on balancing the power between the military and the Workers' party, and that Eul will be receiving a high position of power so that he can observe his father. Machiavelli states that "it is sufficient inly not to transgress the custom of his [the new prince's] ancestors", meaning that Eul will most likely follow in his father's footsteps and have similar opinions and views. Therefore, North Korea will most likely be ruled under a Stalinist government even after Kim Jong Eul gains power.
My CNN article, titled "Obama pushes $50 billion in infrastructure spending" was published September 6, 2010. President Obama is planning on using the money, if granted it, "for rebuilding and modernizing America's roads, and rails and runways for the long term." Doing so, he says, will create jobs and give the economy a bit of a boost. The article states that "Nearly six in 10 respondents disapproved of Obama's track record on the economy, which is the No. 1 issue in the mind of Americans." Based on this statement Machiavelli would approve of Obama's bid. As he states: "a prince can easily secure himself by avoiding being hated and despised, and by keeping the people satisfied with him, which is most necessary for him to accomplish..." Since the economy is the most important issue at the time it is wise of Obama to be addressing it, particularly since the public disapproves of what has or has not been done so far. It is necessary for Obama to have the satisfaction of the people because if he doesn't when reelection rolls around we'll potentially have ourselves a new president.
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-12-01/opinion/rollins.obama.decision.afghanistan_1_speech-at-west-point-obama-government-of-hamid-karzai/3?_s=PM:OPINION
I found an article, written December 1, 2009, by CNN Senior Political Contributor Ed Rollins. The article was titled "Obama's Decision an Act of Leadership." It was a commentary on Obama's decision to send an additional 30,000 troops into combat. Rollins writes, "The majority of Democrats in Congress are opposed to expanding or prolonging the war in Afghanistan." Obama going against his party is like a prince going against his nobles. Machiavelli warns against this because by doing so, the nobles may move against him. Also in the article, Rollins states, "Critics will argue President Obama should havelearned the lessons of Vietnam and remembered how that war destroyed Lyndon Johnson's presidency." In the sixth chapter of The Prince, Machiavelli writes, "A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savour of it." Machiavelli wouldn't approve Obama's decison to send in the additional troops. He would frown upon Obama for not learning from past presidents', in this case Johnson's, mistakes.
On Aug. 12, 2010 the Associated Press published an article about Obama's decision whether or not to leave troops in Iraq. The author stated that both Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki decided that U.S. involvement in Iraq will end by the end of 2011. However it is possible that the Iraqi government will request that troops stay. If Obama were to allow it, democrats may be upset by the decision. In "The Prince", Machiavelli states that "a prince ought to have two fears, one from within... the other from without." Obama should consider the attitude of the American people when making his decision because "a prince can easily secure himself by avoiding being hated and despised, and by keeping the people satisfied with him."
My article, "Short, Tense Deliberation, Then a General is Gone', comes from the June 23 newspaper of the "New York Times". In this article it talks about Obama's decison making process whether or not to fire General Stanely A. McChrystal after after making bad comments in a "Rolling Stones" interview about senior officals. In this article he consults with adviosrs about the sitation and Obama, "...appears deliberative and open to debate, but in the end, is coldy decisive." Chapter 23 of "The Prince" says that a wise prince should always take good advice and meet with counsels, but should be "steadfast in his resdolutions." Machiavelli would support Obama's actions in taking advice and making sure to make a strong decison although he would not support Obama meeting with several counsels because "he will never get united counsels" (Chpater 23).
An article by Haaretz Service (published on 8/22) dealt with the Iranian president Ahmadinejad's interview with Al-Jazeera news, in which the president stated that the country's target of war, Israel, was too weak to defend against an attack by Iran's military system, which would specifically target Israel's nuclear facilities. The short article, titled "Ahmadinejad: Israel is too weak to attack Iran's nuclear facilities", dealing with the destruction made me wonder about Machiavelli's view of unarmed men. Whereas Machiavelli stated the possible reaction of men that are not allowed to hold arms (by way of the government), this article brings about thoughts of what might happen if the opposing country was left unarmed (in this case Israel) by the government of the defending country (Iran). Surely, the unarmed men would be just as angry, and Ahmedinejad seems very confident. It makes one wonder if the Israeli's possible anger from this action may become worthless, seeing as Israel has no control over Iran's government.
Senia Lee
The article I found is from The Washington Post issued on November 25. During an interview on "60 Minutes, he was asked to describe the toughest decision in his first few months of office. Quickly, he said that it was the decision to deploy 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Machiavelli would disagree that this would be the toughest decision for a leader. He states, "A prince ought to have no other aim or thought , nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and dicipline...As regards action, he ought above all things keep his men well organized and drilled..." (Machiavelli, ch 14). In this case Machiavelli would suggest that Obama should be prepared for battle and keep his troops well organized. He would say that a strong leader would be well armed.
My article, "The Secrets of Obama's Underappreciated Success" was piblished in Time magazine on April, 26, 2010, which talked about Obama's past actions during his presidency. It's highlighted that he has brokered an arms-reduction deal with Russia, eliminated many terrorist leaders because of aggressive targeting operations, and made progress with our relations in Iran. Machiavelli would greatly approve of Obama's moves, as says in "The Prince", "...A prince who has a strong city...will not be attacked, or if anyone should attack he will only be driven off with disgrace." Machiavelli would agree with Obama's moves to strengthen the US by improving relations with other countries, and intimidating countries we're at war with.
On August 28th, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff published an article, 'Obama and the Mess in Sudan'. The article outlines Obama's failure to come through on his promise to put an end to the genocide. According to the article, " the south just captured a helicopter crew of Western mercenaries...". I choose this article because it puzzled me what Machiavelli would have been more distraught about.Would it be President's Obama's authorized use of mercenaries in Sudan would disgust Machiavelli because they are “disunited, undisciplined, ambitious, and faithless.” The other tactic that would make him angry would be the fact that the U.S. was even interested with in dealing with an affair that had no direct effect on themselves.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100904/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama
The September 4th Associated Press article "Obama pledges to work for a thriving middle class" reported on Obama's radio address in which he stated the country's need for a strong middle class. Obama said he personally will keep trying to "restore opportunity, economic security and that basic American dream."
Machiavelli says a prince should "appear to him who sees and hears him altogether merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious." By saying that he personally will work to help Americans, Obama makes a show of being faithful, humane, and upright.
After reading blog posts, I see that the article I had originally printed had more to do with the economy, which Machiavelli rarely addressed. Therefore I am using an article released on September 3, 2010. It discussed Obama's pledge to end the war in Iraq, and concentrate on Afghanistan. This is an interesting choice from a strategical point of view. Clearly, Obama believes that Iraq will soon be capable of handling its own affairs as far as security goes. The outcome of this move could very well determine Obama's ability to command the U.S. army. Machiavelli finds the art of warcraft is very important for all princes to master, saying "A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline...".
My article is "Obama firm, won't yield on tax hike for wealthiest" by associated press on September 9th. It talks about how Obama will increase the tax rates of the wealthy so as to help the middle class by not increasing their taxes. Obama states in the article that "The middle class is still treading water, while those aspiring to reach the middle class are doing everything they can to keep from drowning,". Michiavelli would agree with this decision because he often says that "it is necessary for a prince to have the people friendly, otherwise he has no security in adversity". By maintaining the taxes for the middle class and increasing them for the wealthy, Obama is keeping the people friendly and securing his place.
My article, "President mulls new measures to spark economy," was published on CNN.com on September 3, 2010.
In it the author talks about President Obama's rumored plans and current actions as Obama prepares to give two speeches concerning his final decision on how to help the US economy. As the article says, Obama is getting help from experts to solve this problem. "the president recently asked his economic team to come up with various proposals he could roll out..." By searching for help, Obama is following Machiavelli's suggestion to "always take counsel, but only when he wishes and not when others wish..." Therefore, Machiavelli would agree with Obama asking for advice, but would further suggest that Obama not accept advice from any whom he did not ask it.
My article comes from the New York Daily News Sept 10, 2010. It is about Obama going to Ohio to discuss his issues with the Republican party. "Obama will hammer Republicans on insisting on preserving tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans" the article said. Machiavelli would disagree with this because Obama is trying to raise taxes for the nobles in his principalty and Machiavelli thinks he should try to keep the nobles happy.
My article, "Voters' anxiety clouds Obama's historic successes",comes from USA Today on May 12, 2010. Here, the writer talks about Obama's various decisions in the past, and the resulting disagreements of the U.S. population. One of Machiavelli's most important points is as follows: "...whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved?...one should wish to be both...it is much safer to be feared than loved..." (Chapter 17). In this case, Obama has chosen wrong in Machiavelli's eyes because he was, at the beginning of his administration, mostly loved rather than feared. Unfortunately, now Machiavelli has been proven right in that Obama is neither loved nor feared at a 50% approval rating (as stated in the article).
The article that I had originally had been used a few times so I found another one titled: Wyo.'s Wendt blasts China green energy subsidies off of msnbc's website. In the article Wendt is discussing the fact that he is in favor of a proposed investigation into China's compliance with trading laws. According to Machiavelli, a leader needs to be in favor of the masses because they have more power than the nobles or other leaders of the world so it would benefit Wendt's popularity to back the Steel Worker's petition to the Obama administration.
Anthony Schliesman
My article is from October 23, 2009 from CBS Evening News, which is discussing how Obama is getting a little angry at Fox news, in which he says that Fox news isn't really a news station at all, but instead more of a public radio sort of show. Being that, though they don't directly say, they would like for it to be shut down (or toned down) for it's negative comments towards Obama. Machiavelli directly agrees with such. "And one of the most efficacious remedies that a prince can have against conspiracies is not to be hated and despised by the people..." If you have a whole news organization that both "is by far the most watched of the cable news networks" and "it's ratings have gone up 13% this summer" saying really bad things about you, you'd want to do something about it. Quick.
My artical is from the October 22 2008 article of The Huffington Post. In "Sahra Palins Clothes Spending Has Dems Salivating, Republicans Disgusted." According to Machiavelli, " He who has the state of another in his hands ought never to think of himself...." Machiavelli would strongly disagree with what Sahra Palin was doing with the money entrusted to her. Therefore she should not have indulge her self with bits and pieces that would satisfied her craving for stuff.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/04/obama-needs-to-find-his-principles.html
Mr article was from Newsweek on September 4. It is an article criticizing Obama's principles on recent events (such as Arizona's anti-immigrant law, Prop 8, and the 'Ground Zero Mosque'). While reading the article, I could not help but remember Machiavelli's idea; "it is unnecessary for a price to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but is very necessary to appear to have them." This article looks at what Obama said, or should have said, and also how he should reexamine his principles and priorities while in the White House.
The article I found was titled "Obama's plan to extend some tax cuts may be gaining traction", in this article it talks about President Obama's plan to renew tax cuts from the Bush era to everyone but those who make over $250,00 a year. To me this paralleled Machiavelli's advice to princes that they should keep the people happy, rather than focus on pleasing the nobles. "but you can satisfy the people, for their object is more righteous than that of the nobles...it is to be added also that prince can never secure himself against a hostile people, because of their being too many".
By making tax cuts to the majority of people in the united states (it is said that less than 3% of people make more than $250,000 a year), Obama would be doing a favor to the general public which, according to Machiavelli, is something very important for leaders to do.
My article comes Time Magazine posted by Michael Scherer on January 2010 at 6:32 P.M. on the earthquake in Haiti. "Aggressive it has been. He was briefed twice on Teusday night, and briefed again by four different agencies and indiviuals before 10 A.M. Wednesday. He cancelled a planned speech on clean energy jobs, along with a side trip to Maryland, and spent the afternoon working the phones, talking to the U.S. ambassador to Haiti, to Secretary of State, to the USAID administrator, and the United Nations..." The prince would agree with the way President Obama handled this because he wasn't cautious and instead was impetuousness and wouldn't stray from the way nature would have led him.
My article was written on Chron.com on May 2nd, it talks about how Obama plans to involve the government's help in the oil spill cleanup. In the article Obama gave his word saying, "the government would 'spare no resource' in a 'coordinated, relentless response effort' to clean up and stop the massive oil spill." Machiavelli says that a prince should not solely rely on his word alone, "therefore it is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify the wolves." Therefore Obama should follow through with his promises otherwise he will not be a successful prince.
Post a Comment
<< Home