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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper examines idealism and virtue as it respects Machiavelli's The Prince. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: RG13_SA946vi.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
virtuous goals are embraced. Idealism is the notion that something can be better, or that there is a perfect state to which one might aspire. Virtue and idealism have a
close relationship in general. Virtue is also equated with an ideal and the relationship between the two as appears in Machiavellis The Prince does help to distinguish the terms. That
is, while virtue and idealism have a close relationship, they are two different things. When it comes to the writings by Machiavelli, and particularly The Prince, a sense of
realism exudes. That is, while much rhetoric of the day is idealistic, or focuses on virtue, Machiavelli (1515) tries to tell it like it is, or like it was. It
is not as if he ignores virtue completely. Yet, for Machiavelli (1515), virtue is not always what it appears. He writes: " ...if everything is considered carefully, it will
be found that something which looks like virtue, if followed, would be his ruin; whilst something else, which looks like vice, yet followed brings him security and prosperity" (Machiavelli, 1515).
Idealism perhaps looks at things through rose colored glasses, considering that things would be better if in an ideal state would erupt. However, virtue is something that people can live
with on a daily basis. Virtue is equated with doing the right thing in the present. Idealism is something that may never occur. Mindle (1985) claims that Machiavellis general purpose
is actually to provide a sense of realism to politics and the purpose of The Prince is to set out to provide the truth to its readers. Hence, there is
little idealism to come from Machiavelli. Further, he warns against virtue as a concept that may simply appear to be good but in reality is not. In regard to idealism,
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