| I've read a few of his works, including that famous The Prince, a few of his minor discourses, and a few of his plays. I'd have to say no, he wasn't "evil" in any sense.
Strangely most people assume Machiavelli to be evil. The Church even labelled him as the son of Satan. Often its due to an ignorance of Machiavelli's works, and even stems on the fact people do possess a 'Machiavellian' streak, and their denial of that fact leads them to curse Machiavelli (people often hate other people for the qualities they hate about themselves).
The reality is that Machiavelli simply observed, and wrote down his observations, of politics and human psychology. I would use the word "pragmatic" rather than evil. Machiavelli suggests that deception, for example, is a necessity for survival, and it should be used against those who decieve.
Ideological loyalty is the act of giving your soul to a vague concept, to be manipulated by people smarter than you. |