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Transcript

Chapter 16: Generosity vs Parsimony

Defining Points

Connections

  • A defining point of in chapter 16 would be that although you might be seen as miserly to your people, it would be better to be seen as someone who is miserly than someone who is too generous. Pulling back on generosity would lead to your people hating you.
  • A key concept of chapter 16 is that a leader should have a balance between being generous and being reserved. A leader should never give away things, such as money or food, too frequently but should not completely limit these resources. Leaders should want to be seen as strict instead of being generous which could lead to food shortages.

Oppressive leaders, those that deprive their people, receive a lot of hate and rebellion.

1) Joseph Stalin, of the Soviet Union: 1922-1956, was a harsh dictator to both his people and foreigners. He overlooked the issue of thousands of native starving. He was cruel towards immigrants and other foreigners; he would kill or exile any outsiders that did not please him. The natives were given the same harsh punishments.

Overly generous rulers, those that give the people too much, are often taken advantage of.

2) Jimmy Carter, of the United States: 1976-1980, was known for being a weak president. Carter focused on regaining the trust of the people, that was lost during the "cold pragmatic" Ford and Nixon time period. Carter focused too much on pleasing the people that the government failed during his rule.

Paraphrase

In The Prince, Machiavelli states that if a prince or ruler is overly generous, he will not be appreciated. His people will always expect this type of generosity and this will cause them to become greedy. This type of rule always ends in economic instability which in turn, equals more taxes and grief for the prince. If he should decide to not be as charitable, then he is now labeled a stingy ruler. A wise prince should be willing to be known as a miser than to be despised for being too generous. However, like Caesar, Cyrus and Alexander, spending that which belongs to someone else does not bring disrepute to your name. Instead it adds to your popularity because only spending what is yours hurts you.

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