Prince Seminar Response

     One of the evil ideas that Machiavelli has is that when you are taking over a new state, that you should kill the old royal line to prevent problems down the road. “He, therefore, who acquires such a state, if he mean to keep it, must see to two things; first, that the blood of the ancient line of Princes be destroyed. (3)”

     One piece of advice that I agreed with is that new Princes should look to leaders from the past and use their strategies for governing the state. “The wise man should always follow the roads that have been trodden by the great. (12)” It makes sense to do what has worked for the good leaders before you unless their practices were morally wrong. If it worked in the past, in a similar situation, it will work again for you.
     A current situation that is using these principals set forth by Machiavelli is taking place in the Middle East. We are sending troops to protect our interests and others in the area from an enemy. Machiavelli says that sending troops is very expensive as we see in our military budget. The cost is one of the main factors of why the U.S. is not getting more involved in the conflict.