A 5 page essay that addresses the topic of political expediency. Presumably leaders and nations base their actions on rationales that place put a priority on the welfare of the people, rather than political expediency. However, in the early sixteenth century, Niccolo Machiavelli pointed out that actions that are political expedient are necessary in order for those who are in power to remain in power. Rather than going through the charade of pretending that there are other rationales for authoritarian action, Machiavelli cut to the heart of the matter and laid out a course of action for rulers, based on his observations of human nature, that he calculated as effective and these actions were based on political expediency rather than morality. This examination of political expediency looks first at Machiavelli's philosophy and then at how it is evidenced in British colonial policy in the first half of the twentieth century as evidenced in the writing of George Orwell. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
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Niccolo Machiavelli pointed out that actions that are political expedient are necessary in order for those who are in power to remain in power. Rather than going through the charade
of pretending that there are other rationales for authoritarian action, Machiavelli cut to the heart of the matter and laid out a course of action for rulers, based on his
observations of human nature, that he calculated as effective and these actions were based on political expediency rather than morality. This examination of political expediency looks first at Machiavellis philosophy
and then at how it is evidenced in British colonial policy in the first half of the twentieth century as evidenced in the writing of George Orwell. Machiavellis flowery
introduction to The Prince, is famous treatise on politics and power, which is addressed to Lorenzo Di Piero De Medici, the ruling power in the city of Florence. In this
introduction, he presents his text as a plan specifically designed to gain for De Medici even more power. Machiavelli is essentially currying favor with an absolute monarch. Beginning in
antiquity and carrying forward into the medieval period, Western civilization adhered to an ideal that envisioned a ruler as embodying not only nobility but the values of a particular culture.
The ruler was seen as Gods representative on earth and his use of absolute power was justified by his receiving the right to rule directly from God. Machiavelli deviated from
this cultural template and pictured rules within the context of political realities. However, he did agree with the medieval church in the view that human nature is essentially corrupt. This
view of humanity was shared by the medieval church, which saw human corruption as the result of "original sin." With Machiavelli, this was not a theological stance, but purely the
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