Analyzing The Utilitarian Principle Of The Prince

Mohammad Ridha Dr. Hazlett English 132 12/12/2016 Analyzing the Utilitarian Principle in The Prince In The Prince, Niccolà ² Machiavelli makes the utilitarian argument that, if it were for the benefit of the whole state, a prince may hurt some individuals and would be justified in his actions. He suggests that a reputation of cruelty attributed to a new prince can and should be dismissed, as the use of physical force to subdue a people is almost inevitable, if the prince were to retain his power. He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation. While Machiavelli s essay was not well-received at the time it was delivered, its theme on how best for a monarch to maintain power seems to repeat itself in modern dictatorships. At face value, Saddam Hussein of Iraq is a prime example. While he himself may have not necessarily read the work of Niccolà ² Machiavelli, his actions in allegedly brutalizing those who rose against him so that he may retain power are in accordance with Machia velli s political philosophy. This aspect of Machiavelli s argument, which justifies the suffering of few for the benefit of the whole is largely utilitarian. As such, it is worth reexamining the theory of utilitarianism, which drives this aspect of Machiavelli s argument. The modern theory of utilitarianism is a type of consequentialism--the view that normative properties depend only on consequences; that is to say, in other words,Show MoreRelatedSalt Lake Olympic Bribery Scandal Essay8624 Words   |  35 Pagesofficials, politicians, and political parties. These corporations have included some of the largest and most widely held public companies in the United States; over 117 of them rank in the top Fortune 500 industries. B. STATEMENT OF RELEVANT LEGAL PRINCIPLES AND RULE OF LAW When the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, FCPA, was enforced, many were caught in the act of bribery and for that they were fined and some were sent to jail. This act made a lot of companies in the United States and outside the countryRead MoreMerger and Acquisition: Current Issues115629 Words   |  463 Pagesmethods are reviewed. Basic conclusions are summarized in the last section. Chapter 11 analyzes the topic of acquisitions and mergers from the perspectives of utilitarian ethics and rights theory, and discusses the ethical issues involving hostile takeovers and attempts that have been made to prevent them. Most mergers meet the utilitarian ethics test. Preventing or increasing the cost of mergers violates property and contract rights. These issues have not been discussed much in the literature; thisRead MoreInternational Management67196 Words   |  269 Pagesand Technological Environment The World of International Management: Google’s China Gamble Political Environment Ideologies 34 34 36 37 Political Systems xvi 40 Table of Contents xvii Legal and Regulatory Environment Basic Principles of International Law Examples of Legal and Regulatory Issues Regulation of Trade and Investment 41 42 43 46 Technological Environment and Global Shifts in Production Trends in Technology, Communication, and Innovation Biotechnology E-BusinessRead MoreMetz Film Language a Semiotics of the Cinema PDF100902 Words   |  316 Pagesof knowing whether the story has ended is always relevant, even when they have the maturity to glimpse possible extensions of the semantic substance of the story (but not of the story itself). They ask, Is that the end? But afterward what does the prince do? II A beginning and an ending—that is to say, the narrative is a temporal sequence. A doubly temporal sequence, one must hasten to specify: There is the time of the thing told and the time of the telling (the time of the significate and the time