This is an ABC podcast.

It's the early 16th century in Florence, Italy.

The Renaissance is in full swing.

The Medici's are in a rocky period of their reign,

and a man named Niclo Machiaovelli has been thrown into exile.

He's an Italian diplomat and political philosopher, and it's during this time that he writes

a book called The Prince.

It was condemned at the time, but later has been regarded.

And in there, what he basically argued is that it's better to be feared than loved if you can't be both.

Maciovelli's take was that people are essentially dishonest, gullible, and driven to meet their own needs.

So leaders should take advantage of that human nature to maximize their own gains.

He also believed the ends justified the means.

His ideas have had a lasting impact on politics.

Napoleon and Stalin would be considered very macabalian.

What they do is they engage in policies that are best for winning a war,

or what they feel is best to serve the greater good,

even if it costs thousands of people's

their lives or their well-being. And his views have made their mark on literature and pop culture,

Shakespeare's Richard III likenes himself to Machiavelli, a Machiavelli kind of behavior in his

works. Now is the winter of our discontent. I can tell you that my grandfather introduced me to the Godfather movies very early, and Don Corleone is a fantastic example of a Machiavellian, right?

You can act like a man!

What's the matter of it?

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