A cursory glance at the history of human civilizations, does anyone wonder why good people with noble intentions often finish last? Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, historian and philosopher who observed this paradox by researching the kingdoms of ancient and medieval Italy, especially Florence, his hometown. His findings were startling. Virtuous and upright kings and queens were short-lived, outsmarted, dethroned and murdered by scheming and conniving rivals. 

This led Machiavelli to develop a new treatise for engineering success, fame, power and fortune and consequently wrote and published in 1532, a seminal book on statecraft called ‘The Prince’. Four centuries have elapsed since the term “Machiavellian” has entered the lexicons of Europe and the world and never has a treatise been more patronized by the merchants of power- from emperors of Europe to the Mafiosi’s of Sicily to the power-brokers in Wall Street to the ideologues of Communism to family scions to political demagogues to kingmakers to boardroom dissenters to any being of ambition-eyeing for lasting rule in the corridors of power and prestige. 

Niccolo Machiavelli’s enigmatic protagonist The Prince has since assumed a messianic role in developing the discipline of modern political philosophy, realpolitik to be precise and in its wake encompassing a host of spurious adjectives- scheming, cunning, wily, devious, amoral, duplicitous, and unethical- into this single term. “Machiavellian” in short means a dishonorable person, a scoundrel who is an ace manipulator whose ends justifies his means to achieve whatever he desires. He is not constrained by ‘principles’, the single biggest deterrent of righteous people to commit acts of moral evil. The Machiavellian power monger in politics, business and social life is fluid in his actions and behavior. He effortlessly shifts from being cruel, ruthless, treacherous and conducting himself with malice and hatred to being an absolute charmer the next second, pretentiously kind and compassionate, flattering with ease and lying through his nose, instinctively and spontaneously like a chameleon. For him, end justifies the means, always and without remorse. He acts against the dictates of justice and his actions only seem to be good. Machiavelli writes, “A ruler then need not possess the princely virtues but he must seem to. Indeed, I should be so bored as to say having and always cultivating them is harmful but seeming to have them is indispensable. You must seem merciful, you must seem trustworthy, you must seem upright. But if it becomes necessary to refrain, you must be prepared to act in the opposite way”. Machiavellian is a narcissist and a psychopath rolled into one and devoid of ethics, empathy and care. To him, it is not always rational to be moral, in defiance to universal moral principles of world religions, Karmic Law and retributive justice.  

This intelligent and revolutionary treatise has its basic philosophy for power; it rests on maintaining effective communication and relationship between parties. Its controversial content encourages ambitious people to indulge in bribery, trickery, flattery and diplomacy with a lethal combination of charm and charisma, which, ensconces an individual to lasting power and control. It also warrants meticulous observation of actions and reactions of cronies and rivals that can be used to manipulate circumstances and engineer events to win votes and favor, more like unraveling the secrets of a magician into a stark realization that sleight and illusion lies beneath the wonder. An empirical study on demagogues and tyrants in history – ancient, medieval and modern – will categorically affirm the manipulative nature behind their personalities. They believe that being good is ineffective, takes you nowhere, and that life is only a tale synonymous with achievers of money, power and pelf. 

Machiavelli’s Prince is a study of humanity at large. While it readily describes the character and nature of the rich and the powerful it also emphasizes that all humans are “Machiavellian” to an extent and to possess some of these traits are indispensable to survive as individuals in an unforgiving society. The great Indian philosopher Chanakya in his magnum opus “Arthashasthra”, one of the most accomplished and celebrated treatises on statecraft laments “A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first”. If we were prisoners of impulse, speaking our minds and acting at the slightest agitation, then nothing short of anarchy and chaos would prevail in the world. Machiavelli’s Prince exhorts humans to insulate themselves from being trapped and deceived by circumstances and people in one of its celebrated verses “The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves”. A 360-degree view of reality and the ability to see through peripheral vision is warranted by exercising caution and discretion in dealings with people. 

Being “Machiavellian” asserts mankind as a social animal. It helps us ferret out poor decisions that shall jeopardize our positions, refine our raw animal instincts to make us acceptable in a group and command respect in being good. The Prince reminds us that diplomacy and tact are critical ingredients for an effective persona. Anyone devoid of Machiavellian traits runs the risk of being marginalized due to impulsivity and therefore becomes impotent in a social setting. Machiavelli’s Prince is also a precursor of the study of anthropology and a psychological analysis into whether any human behavior can be genuinely deemed philanthropic and altruistic without having hidden, ulterior motives! Mercy is often an abused word in a lecherous world where many resorts to charity only to be photographed with the disadvantaged and the underprivileged to whet their egotistic nature. Charity has mostly degenerated into a means for popularity, to receive plaudits and acclaim by posting their ‘plausibly selfless deeds’ on Facebook and other social media. We live in a world marked by sensationalism and shameful event and personal brand management trying to commercialize even the misery, anguish and pain of the poor and downtrodden. “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing”, this bold and profound biblical verse in Matthew 6:3 is an anathema to the modern world. 

Machiavelli’s Prince will continue to inspire and fascinate generations to come, and many congenitally equipped with the burning desire of power will learn at the feet of the protagonist Prince obtaining the license for underhand dealing, treachery and spuriousness to gain it while the philosophical theme of being “Machiavellian” will remain enigmatic as ever, trying to decipher its true meaning in the context of a means to human survival and its moral position as good and bad.

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