Machiavelli was a politician and author in the 15th-16th century.
These days, his name is synonymous with manipulation, deceit, and villains gleefully plotting evil deeds while tapping their fingertips together.
Much of that reputation is due to his book, The Prince. He wrote it for Lorenzo di Medici, giving him advice for how to deal with his political enemies.
To that end, he shared insight into how the rulers of nations behave.
Machiavelli wasn’t talking about how they should behave. He was a realist. He understood that a good man, and a good Prince, would want to embody virtues like honor, honesty, and peacefulness.
But he also understood that power corrupts, and most people in positions of power will readily abandon their virtues.
If a Prince is to stay in power and protect his people, he’s got to be willing to play that game:
“A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case.”
And later:
“You must know, then, that there are two methods of fighting, the one by law, the other by force: the first method is that of men, the second of beasts; but as the first method is often insufficient, one must have recourse to the second. It is therefore necessary for a prince to know well how to use both the beast and the man.”
This point was explored in Game of Thrones. (Spoilers ahead, plebs.)
In that series, almost all of the noble families are corrupt in one way or another. They’re all willing to sink to the level of murder (even mass murder), thievery, lying, betrayal, and other dastardly deeds to protect their own and stay in power.
The exception to this rule is the Stark family. The Starks, led by the honorable father Ned Stark, are upright and noble to a fault.
Ned Stark refuses to lie, or even hide the truth. He’s not power hungry.
He’s warned about this honorable behavior by one of the most manipulative, power-hungry characters, Cersei Lannister. Here’s their conversation:
Cersei Lannister: “You should have taken the realm for yourself . . . All you needed to do was climb the stairs and take the throne for yourself. Such a sad mistake.”
Ned Stark: “I’ve made many mistakes in my life, but that wasn’t one of them.”
Cersei Lannister: “Oh, but it was. When you play the game of thrones, you win. Or you die. There is no middle ground.”
Machiavelli would have agreed with Cersei, and pitied Ned. Because as the game of thrones unfolds, the Stark family is ruined, separated from one another, and all but destroyed.
It’s a sad truth that at the current state of human evolution, Machiavelli’s insights are undeniable.
As I watch Putin wage his war on Ukraine—a war for ego, power, and pride—I wonder how long the rest of the world will be able to rely on the noble virtues that make peace, law, and order possible, before having to turn to the virtues of the beast.
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Love,
L.