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Olivia Duncan

Dr. Holt

Essential Questioning

A Machiavellian leader is petty, deceitful, narcissistic, duplicitous and extremely

manipulative. However that type of person has something that most others do not power. Not

the type of power that says you get to be in charge of your younger siblings when your parents

arent home, but the type that influences and controls a substantial audience or dominion.

Niccol Machiavellis, The Prince serves as a handbook for rulers, giving advice such as ways in

which a person should carry themselves in regards to their people. A 21 century comparison to
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The Prince is, character, Lucious Lyon from the television show Empire. The Machiavellian

approach to power is extremely evident to the way Lucious runs his empire. In saying that, he

utilizes murder, deceit and manipulation as base tools for his success, and manages to remain

adamant to execute his Machiavellian actions to completion.

In 1513, Machiavelli examined how to become a man in power. At the time, his

intentions were to gain a sense of power for himself, and grasp the attention of the politically

powerful Medici family. It could be inferred that because of his desire to be recognized, he

created established and entire political realism on how to gain power and keep it. He describes

how to run a state without regard for the usual traditional approach. How a man must emulate a

lion and fox, and how a man should be feared over being loved and at times he must be amoral.

The show Empire is an influential drama about a family dynasty, set within the world of

hip-hop music. Lucious is the king of all music labels and CEO of Empire Entertainment. He

viciously remains on top of the competitive industry because of his dangerous decisions, and his
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willingness to sacrifice anything and anyone beside himself. Sadly, this includes taking down

those closes to him or shying away. Lucious even says to his son Hakeem, sometimes you [have

to] be willing to sacrifice your queen in order to win the game, implying that his wife Cookie,

be the queen. Lucious is not worried about not being loved, because he feeds off of the fear of

the people around him, and if he is not loved, at least he escapes being hated (Machiavelli).

People with big egos like Lucious, are a threat to everyone around him or her. As long as the

people are not robbed of their property they will remain content and the prince will remain

respected, and as long as the prince is not robbed of his property and women he will remain

content. The same theory can be applied to Lucious. He does not deal well with people taking

control over what he has created and if someone where to cross his path of work then the people

are not going to remain content. Lucious is the type to be offended quickly and the results are not

going to come easy. In the end he will always protect and take care of those close to him.

There is a specific quote from The Prince that exposes and accurately embodies Lucious

prince like behaviors:

One can generally say this about men: that they are ungrateful, fickle, simulators

and deceivers[..] greedy for gain; and while you work for their good they are

completely yours, offering you their blood, their property, their lives and their

sons . . . but when it comes nearer to you they turn away(Machiavelli)

Like Machiavelli said, a prince is forced to know how to act like a beast, he must

learn from the fox and the lion; because the lion is defenseless against traps and a fox is

defenseless against wolves. It is the ability to adapt to new situations that Machiavelli is
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stressing. In addition, the two animals commentary talents are what differentiates this type of

ruler from any other common folk. However the morality of how success is gained is debatable

because lions, like Lucious Lyon, dont rationalize. They hunt, mate and eliminate their weak.

In order to be a wise prince one must also show generosity and compassion. He must

cultivate the goodwill of the people, in Lucious case the people working for Empire. Even

though Machiavelli claims it is better to be feared than loved, the only time Lucious really

shows mercy and compassion is when love is involved. His inability to deeply connect with the

people that mean the most to him is apart of his weakness as a ruler, however his partner Cookie

Lyon is the only woman that could influence him enough to where he would change his opinion

and or actions.

After deep analysis of both The Prince and Lucious Lyon, it is easy to infer that in order

to be a successful ruler you need to control, and manipulate, in order to perpetuate the publics

perception of your own persona and faade of power. The megalomaniac, Lucious has created a

bermensch to hide from the world, but still acts like a lion and fox when he needs to, in order to

get what he wants.

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Works Cited:

Machiavelli, Niccol, and Harvey C. Mansfield. The Prince. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago

Press, 1998. Print.