Machavelli Essays (709 words) - Philosophy, Gaming, Machiavellianism

Machavelli Lately, the president of the United States Bill Clinton, has pursued some policies that have been very unpopular not only with the general public but the electorate as well. Besides the whole Monica ordeal he feels that these unpopular policies will effect the results of the next election. The presidential advisors have formulated countless plans but no plan has seemed to work. One idea would be to leave the unpopular policies as they are because of the president and advisors belief that they are the best for the country. Another option would be to just present the unpopular policies in a new way to maybe change public opinion on them. Still another would be to just ignore the policies and concentrate on the election. No matter what option , if any, should be chosen one must be thought up quick and it must not only address the problem but solve it and fast. Since I have recently learned about Machiavelli and his work titled The Prince I feel his opinions would help to influence some decisions for the president and his advisors. A first and very important view of Machiavelli would be his view of the prince and his advisors. "It is an infallible rule that a prince who is not wise himself cannot be well advised."(p.117) As it is up to the prince to be well advised it is also up to the president to be well advised as well. The president's advisors, as well as the president, are not sure what actions to take, which in Machiavelli's view would not be a good characteristic of a leader and as a result would not help gain friendship of the people. Good relationship with the people is one of his greatest points because without the people there is no leader. The leader, the president, must have the support of the people and if not he will not stay in power long. The president is not doing a good job of this because of his very unpopular policies. Machiavelli would never choose to just continue on the same path and peruse unpopular policies. "It is necessary for a prince to possess the friendship; otherwise he has no recourse in times of adversity."(p.65) In response to this he would abandon the unpopular policies and concentrate on winning the election, keeping the people happy. Not only should the leader concentrate on the present and the future but consider the past. " The prince ought to read history and study the actions of eminent men, examine the causes of their victories and defeat in order to imitate the former and avoid the latter."(p.82) History is bound to repeat itself if not watched very carefully. The leader must avoid repeating the blunders of the past and take note of the victories preceding him. Another view that would help the president out in his policies would be Machiavelli's view on boldness. The leader is far better of to be bold instead of cautious. If you expect for the worse and be prepared for bad times even if its not the best strategy you will be better off in the long run. "For if it happens that time and circumstances are favourable to one who acts with caution and prudence he will be successful, but if time and circumstances change he will be ruined, because he does not change his mode of procedure."(p. 121) The leader must at all times be prepared for the worst so he does not get caught off guard and make the people mad. If these views of Machiavelli seem straight forward or to direct maybe Leo Strauss or J.G.A. Pocock could explain these methods of leadership to the president. Pocock would elaborate on the subject of historical awareness. He could help the president understand that we have to look to our past to help better ourselves for the future. Strauss on the hand would compare Machiavelli to the greeks and thier writtings. He would go in depth though about how the greeks, Mr. T in particular, were kings in understatements while Machiavelli was very straightforward in his writtings. After presenting these views to the president I hope my knowledge of Machiavelli and his way of thinking could help influence the policies in place and maybe help the president win the up coming election. Maybe after my essay is read and I graduate Southwest Texas with a Political Science degree maybe I could get a job at the White House and someday take over his job.

Free Essays on Cleopatra VII And The Ptolemaic Dynasty

Cleopatra VII and the Ptolemaic Dynasty Alexandria conquered the world for over nine hundred years politically, culturally, and economically. (http:/touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm) Alexandria’s location on the Mediterranean coast aided in its success. It was a bridge between Europe and Africa and was far away from the invasions of Barbarians. Alexandria was the new capital of Egypt, it replaced Memphis, and the Ptolemaic dynasty came into rule. When the Greeks came into Egypt, many changes occurred. People and goods were able to move over the Nile Valley and the Delta because of new systems of roads and canals. (http:/touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm) There was better military security and cultural and social beliefs spread rapidly. Alexander took over Egypt and made it part of the Greek Empire. Then he named Alexandria after himself. He died and his Empire was divvied up between his generals. Ptolemy was one of them and took Alexandria as his capital. The Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt for the next two and half centuries. Wine producing grapes and cotton were grown and foreign trade took place with luxury goods. Ptolemy absorbed Egypt’s religion with their own and built temples for the gods that they worshipped. Ptolemy’s rule was successful partly because he chose to adopt Egyptian culture. There was a golden age for Alexandria and for Egypt. Scholars and artists from all over the world were invited by Ptolemy to aid in the learning culture of Alexandria. (http:/touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm) A library was built to preserve the Greek culture because Ptolemy thought that their culture was superior. The Library contained almost fifty thousand books, which was amazing at that point in time. (http:/touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm) During Julius Caesar’s war against Pompey, parts of the Library may have been destroyed, but no one knows what really happened to it. It could have been only a small portion that had been damag... Free Essays on Cleopatra VII And The Ptolemaic Dynasty Free Essays on Cleopatra VII And The Ptolemaic Dynasty Cleopatra VII and the Ptolemaic Dynasty Alexandria conquered the world for over nine hundred years politically, culturally, and economically. (http:/touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm) Alexandria’s location on the Mediterranean coast aided in its success. It was a bridge between Europe and Africa and was far away from the invasions of Barbarians. Alexandria was the new capital of Egypt, it replaced Memphis, and the Ptolemaic dynasty came into rule. When the Greeks came into Egypt, many changes occurred. People and goods were able to move over the Nile Valley and the Delta because of new systems of roads and canals. (http:/touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm) There was better military security and cultural and social beliefs spread rapidly. Alexander took over Egypt and made it part of the Greek Empire. Then he named Alexandria after himself. He died and his Empire was divvied up between his generals. Ptolemy was one of them and took Alexandria as his capital. The Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt for the next two and half centuries. Wine producing grapes and cotton were grown and foreign trade took place with luxury goods. Ptolemy absorbed Egypt’s religion with their own and built temples for the gods that they worshipped. Ptolemy’s rule was successful partly because he chose to adopt Egyptian culture. There was a golden age for Alexandria and for Egypt. Scholars and artists from all over the world were invited by Ptolemy to aid in the learning culture of Alexandria. (http:/touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm) A library was built to preserve the Greek culture because Ptolemy thought that their culture was superior. The Library contained almost fifty thousand books, which was amazing at that point in time. (http:/touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm) During Julius Caesar’s war against Pompey, parts of the Library may have been destroyed, but no one knows what really happened to it. It could have been only a small portion that had been damag...

Ozone issue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ozone issue - Research Paper Example The depletion of the ozone layer is changing the pattern of life and survival on earth. There have been changes in the atmospheric condition due to the loss of ozone on a large scale and hence causing catastrophic disasters as well. ‘A second catastrophic view of the effect of ozone loss depended on the resultant increase in the UV radiation reaching the earth’s surface.’ (Parson, 2003, p.24) The existence of ozone is essential for shielding the earth’s surface from high energy UV rays for the living beings to survive on earth as well as under the ocean. In the 1960’s Berkner and Marshall based their observations too on this fact that during some ancient times the earth’s shift to an oxygen atmosphere forming an ozone layer thick enough to screen surface UV was necessary to let life on earth including that under ocean survive (Parson, 2003, p.24) It is evident that the existence of ozone would to a large extent determine life as well as affect the ecosystem in various ways sometimes even leading to serious diseases like skin cancer. If one follows the proverb, â€Å"Prevention is better than cure†, then he can realize the true significance of the existence of ozone layer and how it is good or bad for life on earth. In the earlier paragraph, a very serious threat which might be caused due to lack of sufficient ozone has been unmasked. In other words, as ozone prevents the harmful UV rays from bringing unwanted effects on life on the earth, it can be understood as to what might lead to a disease like skin cancer –â€Å"Ozone depletion means more UV from the sun gets to the ground, leading to more cases of skin cancer, cataracts, and other health problems† (Tabin, 2008, p.143). Besides, ozone protects the earth’s surface by absorbing the harmful UV rays emitting from the sun thereby facilitating life on the planet. If looked from a very far distant location, the earth actually looks like a beauti ful blue sphere, which accounts due to the greenery surrounding the earth, and the vegetation as well as forests which again are seats of the vibrant flowers and eventually indebted to the existence of ozone layer. (Tabin, 2008, p.39) Investigating into the factors causing reduction in ozone, it would be paradoxical to state that human beings play the role of disturbing the ozone layer by unknowingly emitting chemicals that bring unwanted changes in the layer thereby disrupting the delicate balance established by nature. (Tabin, 2008, p.40) During winter, the polar night zone or the zone in South Pole where a stream of air swirls, receives little or no light from the sun, which allows nitric acid and water to form ice crystal’s clouds called polar stratospheric clouds. Apart from this, â€Å"chlorine and bromine containing chemicals can lead to a significant depletion of stratospheric ozone† (Sinha, 1998, p.8). Chlorine gas is produced in the ozone layer as a result of the chemical reaction of the surfaces of the ice crystals, which begins to accumulate in winter releasing chlorine atoms during spring with the sunshine, finally reducing the amount of ozone, which again creates the ozone hole. J. Hampson also performed several experiments, and found out hydrogen compounds produced from water vapor are capable of destroying ozone on a rapid basis. However, the deadliest ‘enemy’ to attack ozone layer seems to be the invention of chlorofluorocarbons