"In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place, oblige it to control itself."
-Alexander Hamilton
Government exists for the sole purpose of creating a social system of which people are to be held accountable to. Over the many years of human history, different forms of government have been created, from despotism to the modern day "democracy", each differing from minute ways to having great differences in doctrine, but all with the purpose of seeking the system that is best for the people whom are under it. Three authors, three "great thinkers", Jefferson, Machiavelli, and Lao Tzu, each have outlined their basic beliefs and plans for the perfect government through their different works. While the works of each of the authors were created hundreds of years ago some of their ideas remain universal while others are impossible to achieve in the present day.
Famous posthumous portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli...
This image was selected as a picture of the week o...
This photograph is of the grave site of Thomas Jef...Machiavelli, in the Prince, writes about the role that a monarch should play in the leadership of his kingdom. As the basic foundation of Machiavelli's work there lies a belief that the masses cannot govern themselves and must be led by a solitary person who acts according to the best interests of the kingdom.
"How praiseworthy it is for a prince to keep his word and to live by integrity and not be deceit everyone knows; nevertheless, one sees from the experience of our times that the princes who have accomplished great deeds are those who have cared little for keeping their promises and who have known how to manipulate the minds of men by shredness..." - Machiavelli (p. 19)
Machiavelli's ideas, while written in the times of the Renaissance, can...