Machiavelli’s Advice For Nice Guys

Machiavelli was a 16th century Florentine political thinker

with powerful advice for nice people who don't get very far.

His thought pivots around a central , uncomfortable observation:

that the "wicked" tend to win;

and they do so because they have a huge advantage over the "good":

they are willing to act with the darkest ingenuity and cunning to further their cause.

They are not held back by those rigid opponents of change: principles.

They will be prepared to outright lie, twist facts, threaten, get violent.

They will also, when the situation demands it, know how to seductively deceive, use charm and honeyed words, bedazzle and distract.

And in this way they conquer the world.

It's routinely assumed that a large part of what it means to be a good person is that one acts well.