URBANNA — I still remember reading the political theories of a 16th century Italian philosopher while in college in 1960. I was a sophomore at Randolph Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg studying political philosophy. As I read his ideas and my brain digested his meaning I noticed goosebumps spread out across my arms. They were not goosebumps from cold. They came from fear.
I had never heard of Niccolò Machiavelli until that moment as high school education in my day (and probably still not today) did not include political theory. Up to that moment I had no idea that there were evil, conniving, manipulative and devious people in the world that wanted to control others and govern their every move.
Yet, we all have run into “Machiavellian personalities” in life … those who are highly selfish, competitive and cunning and will manipulate, cheat and lie in order to win. Such people can be charming and pleasant and yet can turn into a bully and be willing to do most anything to get what they want. They don’t tolerate and they never compromise. They are the antithesis of our right to life, liberty and especially our revolutionary belief that every American has the right to the pursuit of happiness.
Machiavelli lived at a time when Italy was made up of separate city states with each district ruled by its own prince. There was constant fighting and the provinces could easily be picked off by neighboring states.
Thus, Machiavelli was a strong advocate of a united Italy and he envisioned the ruler who could achieve such a goal would have to be extremely strong. His best known book, “the Prince,” laid out his advice on how such a leader could achieve success. The scheme was to rule with an iron hand. It was better to be feared than be loved because loved leaders are only obeyed from obligation, but feared leaders are obeyed because of fear. Which never fails.
Machiavelli said when taking over government it is always best to do all the evil deeds at once and get them over with as the people would then forget about their suffering and, in time, would simply obey from habit. (This is in direct contrast to the Greek fable writer, Aesop, who believed taking the grapes (freedoms) away one grape at a time was a far better plan in order to eventually steal the entire clump.)
Machiavelli also recommended keeping the people always in a state of confusion and turmoil. He liked separating groups according to race, social and economic class, religion, gender and ethnicity. A smart ruler should use whatever differences that separate people and keep them always agitated and angry at each other. In that way, the people would turn against each other instead of the Prince who could then easily manipulate them simply by reminding them always of their hatred for each other’s “group.”
It was that last idea that so frightened me, even at age 19 as I quickly recognized that America was not an ethnically pure country made up of only one race, religion or culture but a potpourri of every group on earth. I could easily imagine that inciting anger and hatred among the many various groups in our country would be quite an easy goal to achieve.
In my lifetime I have seen politicians use Machiavellian techniques to get and keep power. It is heart rending to see how easily people can be agitated and manipulated.
Once I was a feminist and worked for years to open society for equal opportunities for women. Then one day I realized my work was polarizing and that what I really wanted was opportunities for not just women, but all people. If we could change from thinking only from within our own “group,” to thinking as one group, we might stop blatant manipulation.
Today I see America torn into many different factions and much frustration, suspicion, resentment, bitterness, anger and even hatred in the air.
Society has been torn asunder in many areas: racial, gender, religious, economic, social, ethnic, cultural, even such traditions as gender identity, the institution of marriage and even means of birth control have become hot issues. We even argue today over our history with many wanting to rewrite it, erasing all they do not approve of, pretending evil of the past and present is not a part of our human experience.
When I see how wound up we seem to be today, in ways I never have seen in the past, I wonder if our society is being manipulated by Machiavellian figures? I wonder if we are now puppets being manipulated by those that scheme to control us… our lives, thoughts, actions and our very dreams?
We can stop manipulation by refusing to be compartmentalized into any one group that segregates us from our American family. We can work for improvements in society, not some of us, but all of us. We don’t have to tear others down in order to pull ourselves up.
© 2023
