Machiavelli And Today's World

The great political philosopher Machiavelli wrote his most renowned work, “The Prince,” in 1513. It was a book that provoked a great deal of controversy in the early 16th century. The book’s main premise was that a prince had to keep control over his territories at any cost whether through deceit, bribery, or any other under-the-table behavior. Amazingly, this book continues to contain information that is relevant in today’s geopolitical power struggles.

Of course, most leaders in today’s world won’t admit to Machiavellian behavior or thinking, and perhaps they don’t even know they are practicing his philosophy. The Italian philosopher had a great deal of insight into the inner workings of leadership and power and if you look closely you just might see those workings in today’s boardrooms and war rooms.

Machiavelli, if still alive, would approve of the U.S.A.’s adoption of the Patriot Act. He would have approved of a high military presence at our borders and airports, all of which are methods of control. He definitely would have approved of the NSA wiretapping controversy and the wittingly leaked CIA information.

At the height of his life, Machiavelli served as a secretary in the Medici aristocracy. He wrote “The Prince” in an effort to gain favor with the Medici family, but public outcry about the book lost him his job. However, to this day he is considered by some to be a military and political genius. His ideas were considered radical and totally inhumane; hence, the word “Machiavellian” survives him. If someone is considered to have a Machiavellian way of thinking he/she is considered to be underhanded and controlling.

Being a Prime Minister, a President, a King, Queen, or a Prince requires control over one’s subordinates and one’s kingdom. If there is no form of formal control in any nation, a rogue nation develops and becomes chaotic. Globally, Saddam Hussein has been condemned for having such control over his people, but were Machiavelli were still alive he would have lauded the dictator’s handling of his country. He would have given Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini the thumbs up, except Machiavelli was not necessarily into euthanasia.

It would be a smart bet to believe every good or bad leader, political or otherwise, has a copy of “The Prince” stashed away somewhere in their personal libraries. Control is camouflaged in today’s culture. However, you will find it in the boardrooms of Halliburton, Enron, Microsoft, and other corporate giants. Unfortunately, control is a must in our world. We must bend to it, but we must not break to it.