The end justifies the means
Political Science
The end justifies the means, which has become a common philosophy and is Nicollo Machiavelli’s work. The main ideology was expressed in The Prince, a text that would revolutionize leadership. Chaucer is undisputedly the father of political science. He is a strict disciplinarian who used his authority to instil discipline to his subjects. This paper critically evaluates Chaucer’s leadership skills about Machiavelli’s philosophy of leadership.
The end justifies the means.
According to Machiavelli, leadership is a privilege which entails heavy responsibilities. A good leader is one who understands that it is necessary to do everything required to maintain power. As he says, it is quite challenging for leaders to remain in power as long as they wish. This often denies them an opportunity to fulfil all the goals they had established during the installation. However, to remain in power, he should appreciate that no position can thrive without opposition. To retain power, the leader needs to sustain the social and political institutions in which his subjects are living. This is the only way he can establish and maintain stability throughout the territory. Besides, as he asserts, this can only be achieved by coercion, purposely aimed at silencing these dissents. Dirty tricks must be used to solve problems. Deliberate efforts must be taken to eliminate all the infidels as long as it is found out that they are not loyal to the authority. Dante Alighieri endorsed these ideas in his life in his legendary literary works.
This is attested by Chaucer, who becomes a protagonist in The Knights Tale. He emerges as a dedicated leader ready to use his authority to instil harmony in his kingdom. He uses Machiavelli’s ideologies to force the two wrangling groups into loyalty. As a strict disciplinarian, Chaucer decides to project a system of rules to regulate the conduct of people during certain events such as fighting. Upon realizing the dwell between Palamon and Arcite over the lovely Emily, he decided to compel them to solve their problems.
He used his knowledge to adopt Machiavelli’s philosophy in the way that violence was a part of leadership. For this reason, he decided to engage people into a fight, which would help him to solve this problem. He had realized that conflicts were inevitable. The only thing to be done was to use intelligence to solve them. This applies Machiavelli’s principle, explaining that leaders should use dirty tricks when dealing with challenges. If he had not intervened intelligently, this problem would have had dire consequences in his kingdom. It would have interfered with Emily’s peace of mind because she was the main subject in this matter.
As Machiavelli states, a leader should be concerned with strict observance of the societal moral codes of conduct. He should not only focus on private reputation but also on public morality. However, this should not be adhered to now and then. It concerns the times, inevitable to be immoral, depending on the situations one is confronted with. In addition, a ruler can choose to act in an immoral manner, but only when it is necessary. This is exactly what Chaucer did when he forced the two men to fight in the open country. Although this did not augur well in the eyes of the public, it seemed to be a good idea. It ultimately resolved the problem which was troubling the territory. Therefore, it confirms the use of deceit and the exercise of brute in remedying problems affecting the people. Even if the fight results in the brutal death of Arcite, it eventually restores harmony in the kingdom, particularly when Emily marries Palamon. Had it not been for intelligence of Chaucer, Emily would not have had anything remarkable to be happy about in her life. Otherwise, she was happy because she was married to the right man who would care for her.
In actual deed, Chaucer ‘represents rules and order. He’s full of wisdom and chivalry.’ His conduct in this epic portrays him as a school principal who is very concerned about the strict observance of the law. He does all that he can to ensure that everyone follows the law. This trait builds his reputation and enables him to be known by all the people even beyond his territorial borders. As already highlighted, this is also an aspect of principle borrowed from Machiavelli, who advocates for a good public and private image. While doing all these, he takes his time to reflect on his rules. He is careful not to formulate rules that all the people would reject because of their harshness. Instead, he has to ensure that they are beneficial and practically applicable to them. For instance, when he discovered that the two gentlemen were having problems, he, first of all, carried out thorough investigations before knowing what the problem was. Later, he took the most appropriate step, which eventually worked. This was in line with Machiavelli’s assertion that an ideal society could not just be easily attained. Such initiatives must be taken because they can help in purging society.
In conclusion, I would like to say that Machiavelli was one of the most intelligent minds the world has ever had. His leadership philosophy is the only secret to power, which no leader can fail to master. Applying these ideologies could help princes maintain their leadership positions with much comfort. This was the secret behind Chaucer’s success.
