of The Prince incorporate the life of a man who was not royalty. (Wood, p. 507)Section two- IndividualismMachiavelli held the belief that your principle goal, as prince, is to maintain power, and manage your people to your personal best interests. The idea that any man could use all his resources to better himself, was a concept nonexistent during the Middle Ages. (Strathern, p.6) This idea came into prominence during the Renaissance as the cornerstone of an individualistic brand of philosophy what is now called egoism. Individualism is the doctrine that all humans are free to make their own choices and live as they want. Egoism takes this idea one step further by saying that all individual actions are rightly motivated by individual self-interests. A person who is an egoist will make all of his or her decisions based on whether they adhere to his or her personal agenda. (C3.)This idea angered many people of Machiavelli's time. His individualistic writings were not only selfish, in the eyes of many, but his doctrine also said that humans control the path their lives take, not God. Machiavelli does concede that there are certain events that people have no control over, such as weather, but even there he gives no credit to an Almighty Power. (C2.)Machiavelli's individualistic ideas are more common today than ever before. People must choose what car to drive, where to live, or how they want to earn a living. When making these decisions we are mindful of the fact that in the past (and presently in some countries), these and other decisions like them, have been settled by lords, dictators, or tradition. (C3.) All the people on earth are afforded some choices in life, and wishing to live a happier existence, they pose the same question Machiavelli asked three hundred and fifty years ago, which path will give me the greater benefit? (V, p.XIII)Section three- The PrinceThe following are themes of The Prince. Machiavelli put his doctrine on pa...
