Machiavelli

I thought this was honestly somewhat boring to read. It was dry and not super entertaining. But the one thing that I found interesting was when Machiavelli said “states quickly founded, like all other things of rapid beginnings and growth, cannot have deep roots and wide ramifications, so that the first storm destroys them” (106) I thought that this idea is still very prevalent in today’s society in regions that are highly unstable. It can be seen that when a leader is overthrown, not only is it bad for the country, it is bad for the economy and the future growth of the country. This drastic change in leadership styles (usually anyway) causes severe instability and makes the countries around them and the international powerhouses hesitant to send aid. This just creates more problems because there is no chance for them to recover. Machiavelli follows up the earlier quote with “unless, as already said, the man who this becomes a prince is of such great genius as to be able to take immediate steps for maintaining the fortune thrown into his lap, and lay afterward those foundations which other make before becoming princes” (106-107). This basically says that there is a leader who is willing and capable of thinking toward the future and putting down ‘roots’ is the only way that the country will be stable. This is where this quote ties into leadership. There must be a strong leader to help the country then it may be able to be a country that is able to help its people and interact as a force with the world.