Comparing the Societies in Machiavellis The Prince and...

A Comparison of Societies in Machiavellis The Prince and Mores Utopia A perfect society has always been the goal for many; unfortunately it has only existed in books. The Prince by Niccolà ³ Machiavelli, written in 1513, provides necessary information to become a Prince who will obtain, keep, and please his empire. Thomas Mores Utopia, written in 1516, creates an ideal civilization that will live happily, comfortably, and without any problems. Both books attempted to solve problems within a society by critiquing other institutions and creating their own solutions. With the rise in cities, trade, and the economy in the 15th century, people began to realize order and structure in a society is necessary to flourish. Machiavelli and†¦show more content†¦With the rise in universities in the 15th century, old ideas were being questioned, and new ideas were being created. As cities began to grow, new ideas in political theory came about. Machiavelli, a pragmatic political thinker, established a form of political theory in The Prince. He emphasized p ower, war, and the advice of previous rulers in forming a strong government. He writes, governments set up overnight, like everything in nature whose growth is forced, lack strong roots and ramifications (21). By taking time to build an effective government with good advisors and strategies, a Prince will successfully rule his people. The new idea of equality led to a very different political theory in Utopia. More stated Plato when writing: a happy state of society will never be achieved, until philosophers are kings, or kings take to studying philosophy (More 57). In Utopia, it is obvious that philosophical thought created their government. Citizens of Utopia have no private property, for everything is based on communal ownership. A form of democracy is established by electing officials and a Mayor of each settlement. The government does not dominate, but guides society to flourish. Respect for human rights and equality indeed play a role in the government, and the well being of its people is the goal, not money, land or capitol goods. Utopia stresses the importance of theShow MoreRelated Utopia by Thomas More and The Prince by Machiavelli Essay821 Words   |  4 PagesUtopia by Thomas More and The Prince by Machiavelli Thomas More’s Utopia and Machiavelli’s The Prince both concern themselves with the fundamental issues of how a society works and maintains itself. The goals behind the two works, however, differ considerably. The goal of Utopia is to illustrate the maintenance of an â€Å"ideal† society and the goal of The Prince is to instruct a prince, or ruler, on how to maintain his state. On the surface these two goals may seem similar but the