Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- What do you think that Machiavelli would write if he were writing The Prince: Part II for the United States? For countries in the Eurozone? For developing economies?
- How would The Prince be different if Machiavelli didn't bookend it with appeals to Lorenzo de' Medici?
- Machiavelli spends all of this time telling rulers how to conquer fortune, but fortune beats one of his favorite examples, Cesare Borgia. So, which is a stronger force here, virtù or fortune?
- What might The Prince have looked like if Machiavelli were German, French, or Spanish instead of a Florentine?
- After The Prince was published, there was a whole wave of anti-Machiavellian literature. How do you think Machiavelli would defend himself? Would he even bother?
- Make a list of some famous rulers in history. Did they follow Machiavelli's plan? How or how not?
- Imagine that you are Lorenzo and you have just read Machiavelli's strange present to you. How would you respond?