In a nutshell, the medieval Italian philosopher asserted that a good leader: Should be feared rather than loved “if you cannot be both” in order to avoid a revolt. Should have the support of the people because it’s difficult to take action without their support. Should hold good virtues.

Close scrutiny indicates that Machiavelli advances an ethical system for leadership that involves uprooting corruption and establishing rule of law. He draws on history and current affairs in order to obtain a realistic understanding of human behavior that forms a basis for a consequentialist ethics.

Machiavelli advises the ruler to become a “great liar and deceiver”, and that men are so easy to deceive, that the ruler won’t have an issue with lying to others. He justifies this by saying that men are wicked, and never keep their words, therefore the ruler doesn’t have to keep his.

Machiavelli desperately wanted to return to politics. One of his goals in writing The Prince was to win the favor of Lorenzo de’ Medici, then-governor of Florence and the person to whom the book is dedicated; Machiavelli hoped to land an advisory position within the Florentine government.

In A Bronx Tale the character Sonny LoSpecchio – a mob boss of sorts – was asked “is it better to be loved or feared?” He replied – “That’s a good question. It’s nice to be both, but it’s very difficult. But if I had my choice, I would rather be feared. Fear lasts longer than love.”

In the field of personality psychology, Machiavellianism is a personality trait centered on manipulativeness, callousness, and indifference to morality.

Key Points. The Dark Triad personality traits – narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism – can be toxic and damaging in the workplace. But be aware that someone exhibiting these traits may initially be a high achiever and potentially charming, conscientious and achievement-oriented.

Psychopathy

Here’s how to deal with a narcissist:

1. Don’t. Think haunted house.
2. Kiss Up Or Shut Up. If they’re your boss or they have power over you, fighting makes it worse.
3. Know What You Want And Get Payment Up Front. Don’t assume they’ll play fair.
4. Ask, “What would people think?” They want to look good.
5. Be Dexter.

12 Signs Showing You Are Dealing With An Evil Person

• Reality denial. Regardless of how obvious the truth is these people will always deny it.
• Fact twisting. These people are incredible manipulators.
• Hiding information.
• Misleading people.
• Constant lies.
• No remorse.
• Avoid responsibility.
• Manipulators.

Enjoy the pain of others. Part of being truly evil is taking satisfaction in the misery of others. When you’re trying to act evil, it’s important to show how much joy your character gets when other people suffer — and convey that even when you don’t have any lines that spell it out.

Answer Expert Verified. Machiavelli’s advice to a leader confronted with doing the virtuous thing is that, although virtuous acts are necessary for a ruler to be seen as generous, compassionate and honorable, those characteristics are only useful for a ruler to get to leadership.

It is evident that Machiavelli does not believe ethics play a role in the conduct of ruler. In fact, he warns that ethics can be detrimental to victory. In general, Machiavelli believes that honesty has no place in a prince’s repertoire of characteristics.

Machiavelli believed as a ruler, it was better to be widely feared than to be greatly loved; A loved ruler retains authority by obligation while a feared leader rules by fear of punishment.

In psychology, the dark triad comprises the personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. They are called “dark” because of their malevolent qualities. All three dark triad traits are conceptually distinct although empirical evidence shows them to be overlapping.

Niccolò Machiavelli quotes Showing 1-30 of 823. “Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.” “If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.” “The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves.

Machiavelli then asks whether being feared or loved is preferable. Ideally, a prince should be both loved and feared, but this state of affairs is difficult to attain. Forced to make a choice, it is much better to be feared than loved.

“it is much safer to be feared than loved because love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.”

Niccolò Machiavelli