0:00:02.094,0:00:04.677
(bell tolling)

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- [Alan] Niccolo Machiavelli,

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16th-century Italian diplomat,

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political thinker, arch-baddie.

0:00:16.797,0:00:18.699
His name conjures up everything

0:00:18.699,0:00:21.933
that's sly about human behavior.

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- Well, we have an image of[br]what the Machiavellian is.

0:00:24.162,0:00:26.907
I mean, the word is in our[br]dictionaries, he is an adjective.

0:00:26.907,0:00:31.089
- [Man] "Machiavellian:[br]astute, cunning, intriguing."

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- Controlling, powerful.

0:00:33.566,0:00:35.696
- Sinister, underhand.

0:00:35.696,0:00:37.325
- Devious, scheming.

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- Cunning, subtle.

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- Nefarious, manipulative

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and to a degree, cruel.

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- Peter Mandelson regularly[br]gets described as Machiavellian,

0:00:48.673,0:00:52.604
I was regularly described[br]as Machiavellian.

0:00:52.604,0:00:55.750
- [Alan] And it's all[br]because of this: The Prince,

0:00:55.750,0:00:57.591
written 500 years ago.

0:00:57.591,0:01:01.778
It's about power, how to[br]get it and how to keep it.

0:01:01.778,0:01:04.215
- "It can be said of men[br]that they are ungrateful,

0:01:04.215,0:01:06.085
"fickle liars and deceivers.

0:01:06.085,0:01:09.364
"They shun danger and[br]are greedy for profit.

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"Therefore, it is necessary for a ruler

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"who wishes to maintain his position

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"to learn how to be able not to be good."

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- [Alan] Machiavelli[br]wrote The Prince in 1513.

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It was shocking then[br]and it's shocking now.

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- It's almost as if his[br]name, itself, machi-evil,

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it just lends itself to[br]a form of demonization.

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- "Chapter 17, of cruelty and mercy,

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"and whether it is better[br]to be loved than feared.

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"Or the contrary."

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- There is absolutely nobody in history

0:01:40.935,0:01:44.825
who's had more influence on[br]modern affairs, on politics,

0:01:44.825,0:01:47.588
than Niccolo Machiavelli.

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- [Alan] So what are we to[br]make of The Prince on this,

0:01:49.484,0:01:51.879
its 500th anniversary?

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How useful and relevant is it today?

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- One of the most important[br]books ever written

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and a really useful how-to[br]guide for contemporary reality.

0:02:02.391,0:02:03.899
- [Alan] Was Machiavelli right?

0:02:03.899,0:02:06.715
Should we all learn how not to be good?

0:02:06.715,0:02:09.113
Is it better to be feared than loved?

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And who are the[br]21st-century Machiavellians?

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(dramatic music)

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(birds chirping)[br](wings fluttering)

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(ominous music)

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Actually, we're not in Florence.

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we're 10 miles south of[br]Florence in San Casciano.

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This was Machiavelli's[br]country house in the 1500s

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and I'm here for a guided tour.

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(knocking)

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(speaking in foreign language)

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Where he wrote The Prince?

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- Si, exactly.

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- [Alan] And what is this?

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- That is his coat of arms.

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His family's coat of arm.

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The cross and the nails.

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- [Alan] The cross and the nails.

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- [Lucia] Mmm-hmm.

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Machiavelli.

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- [Alan] What does that mean?

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- It refers back to his name, Machiavelli,

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so related with the cross[br]and the nails of Christ.

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- [Alan] Not a bad coat[br]of arms for a man who,

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for centuries, was[br]known as the Antichrist.

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But the cross and nails[br]might just as well stand

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for the violent times[br]Machiavelli lived through.

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- Florence was a city-state,

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occupying and controlling[br]only a very small portion

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of a very chaotic Italy,

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surrounded by other city-states[br]that were allies on Tuesday,

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enemies on Wednesday and then[br]allies again on Thursday.

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The situation was constantly changing.

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It was very treacherous,

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you didn't know who your friends were

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and you couldn't trust anyone,

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so they had to be clever.

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- [Alan] Before he wrote The Prince,

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Machiavelli worked here at the[br]Palazzio Vecchio in Florence.

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The old regime, run by the[br]Medici, had just been deposed.

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A new regime was in charge[br]and Machiavelli served them

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as a high-flying diplomat.

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- Machiavelli found himself at the center

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of all the diplomatic and political

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negotiations within that period.

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And it was his ability[br]as a political analyst

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that enabled him to advance.

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- [Alan] But just when things were going

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so well for Machiavelli,

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the Medici returned to power

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and events took a dramatic turn,

0:04:35.885,0:04:38.010
events that would ultimately lead

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to the writing of The Prince.

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- He was falsely accused[br]in February of 1513

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of taking part in an[br]anti-Medician conspiracy.

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And he's horribly tortured.

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And then he's thrown into prison.

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- [Alan] There aren't many documents

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relating to Machiavelli at this time.

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But this year British[br]historian Stephen Milner

0:05:02.271,0:05:05.316
discovered one of the[br]most important of all.

0:05:05.316,0:05:08.123
He was researching Florentine town criers

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when he stumbled across[br]Machiavelli's arrest warrant.

0:05:13.139,0:05:16.263
- Florence was an incredible[br]place for collecting documents,

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partly because they[br]didn't trust each other.

0:05:18.067,0:05:20.549
They were, where are we?

0:05:20.549,0:05:21.382
There we go.

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- Oh, there we go.

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So, this is it? You just happened to...

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- I ordered this particular volume,

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and this was the one that contained

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the original proclamation.

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It was carried through the[br]city by the town crier,

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and that, they actually[br]would have read and held

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whilst on horseback[br]through the various places

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where these proclamations were made.

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You can see there's a[br]little hole in the middle

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where they put them on a[br]spike for record-keeping.

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And here we see Niccolo di[br]me se Bernardo Machiavelli.

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- So, what is the arrest for?

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- The proclamation is asking,

0:05:57.088,0:05:59.551
it's a notice asking for the[br]whereabouts of Machiavelli

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and for people to come[br]forward with information.

0:06:01.755,0:06:04.097
It actually says within the hour,

0:06:04.097,0:06:06.544
(speaking in foreign language)

0:06:06.544,0:06:08.382
which gives you some idea of the urgency

0:06:08.382,0:06:10.181
that lay behind his arrest.

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And it says, "If they are not informed,

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"they will not be excused."

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So there were no excuses[br]for not notifying.

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- [Alan] Tough stuff. (chuckles)

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- It is a kind of most-wanted[br]proclamation, if you like.

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I think working in the[br]archives in Florence,

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it's kind of a drug, in a[br]sense, of archive fever.

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You never know when you turn a page

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what you're going to bump into.

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There's a lovely proverb[br]from the Renaissance

0:06:33.631,0:06:34.806
period that says,

0:06:34.806,0:06:36.974
(speaking in foreign language)

0:06:36.974,0:06:39.703
"Get it in writing, you[br]can't trust anybody."

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It's almost a kind of mantra for

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Machiavelli's own writing, I think.

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- Well, here we are in the Bargello,

0:06:50.350,0:06:52.799
which is the Florentine[br]police headquarters,

0:06:52.799,0:06:55.037
and this is where Machiavelli was brought

0:06:55.037,0:06:57.537
shortly after he was arrested.

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He claimed that he was tortured,

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that he was actually[br]put on a form of rack,

0:07:03.370,0:07:07.537
that he went three notches[br]on the rack without cracking.

0:07:08.705,0:07:09.863
But there's absolutely no evidence

0:07:09.863,0:07:13.196
that he was involved in this conspiracy.

0:07:16.614,0:07:18.920
- But he has a stroke[br]of good fortune as well,

0:07:18.920,0:07:21.499
which is, the next month,

0:07:21.499,0:07:23.780
the Pope Julius dies

0:07:23.780,0:07:27.197
and the Medici acquire the papacy, Leo X.

0:07:28.748,0:07:32.675
And he declares great rejoicings[br]in the city and an amnesty,

0:07:32.675,0:07:35.008
and so Machiavelli is freed.

0:07:36.438,0:07:39.144
- [Stephen] But he was in[br]effect banned from the city,

0:07:39.144,0:07:41.079
he was sent out to his farmhouse

0:07:41.079,0:07:42.984
and kept under house arrest.

0:07:42.984,0:07:44.256
Rather like being on probation,

0:07:44.256,0:07:47.208
he had to remain within a[br]certain distance of the city

0:07:47.208,0:07:48.753
and that's where, in his[br]study, he began to write

0:07:48.753,0:07:51.336
what we now know as The Prince.

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- And here he is.

0:07:58.937,0:08:01.203
- "Those who wish to win[br]the favor of a prince

0:08:01.203,0:08:02.868
"will generally approach him

0:08:02.868,0:08:05.149
"with gifts they believe[br]will most delight him.

0:08:05.149,0:08:08.728
"Hence we see princes[br]being offered horses, arms,

0:08:08.728,0:08:12.068
"vestments of gold and[br]similar accoutrements.

0:08:12.068,0:08:14.621
"I have found among my possessions

0:08:14.621,0:08:16.709
"nothing I value higher

0:08:16.709,0:08:21.232
"than my knowledge of[br]the deeds of great men."

0:08:21.232,0:08:22.503
- [Alan] This is how Machiavelli

0:08:22.503,0:08:25.216
begins The Prince in 1513,

0:08:25.216,0:08:27.963
with a dedication to[br]Lorenzo the Magnificent,

0:08:27.963,0:08:30.148
the young Medici ruler.

0:08:30.148,0:08:34.179
It was a blatant attempt to[br]suck up to the new regime.

0:08:34.179,0:08:35.692
You need me, he's saying,

0:08:35.692,0:08:38.692
because I know the secrets of power.

0:08:39.715,0:08:43.791
The book is in essence a job application.

0:08:43.791,0:08:47.325
- We have here The Prince manuscript.

0:08:47.325,0:08:50.402
As you see, it is beautifully illuminated

0:08:50.402,0:08:52.819
and it's datable about 1520s,

0:08:54.976,0:08:58.328
and it's in the hand of the[br]closest friend of Machiavelli,

0:08:58.328,0:08:59.911
Biagio Buonaccorsi.

0:09:00.775,0:09:05.312
It's one of the most eldest[br]copy absolutely ever.

0:09:05.312,0:09:07.062
And, as you see here,

0:09:09.046,0:09:11.510
Niccolo Machiavelli addresses the book

0:09:11.510,0:09:13.357
to Lorenzo The Magnificent

0:09:13.357,0:09:15.607
and here you have no title.

0:09:16.475,0:09:18.975
So, the book is without title.

0:09:20.399,0:09:24.310
The Prince is the title[br]the editors gave the book

0:09:24.310,0:09:26.661
when the book was actually published,

0:09:26.661,0:09:29.447
five years after the death of Machiavelli.

0:09:29.447,0:09:33.447
This is another fascinating[br]detail of this book.

0:09:34.870,0:09:36.239
- [Alan] So, The Prince wasn't actually

0:09:36.239,0:09:37.869
called The Prince

0:09:37.869,0:09:41.073
and there are more surprises, too.

0:09:41.073,0:09:43.041
- Well, the first thing you[br]notice if you pick up The Prince

0:09:43.041,0:09:45.190
is that it's an extremely short book,

0:09:45.190,0:09:47.273
it runs to only 90 pages.

0:09:48.300,0:09:50.038
It's a book really about two things.

0:09:50.038,0:09:51.261
One is how to gain power,

0:09:51.261,0:09:53.349
and that's what the first[br]half of the book is about,

0:09:53.349,0:09:54.822
but the rest of the book

0:09:54.822,0:09:57.441
and the real interest for Machiavelli

0:09:57.441,0:09:58.593
of why he wrote it is

0:09:58.593,0:10:02.154
how do you hold on to[br]power once you've got it?

0:10:02.154,0:10:04.450
- "I find it more fitting to[br]seek the truth of the matter,

0:10:04.450,0:10:06.733
"rather than imaginary conceptions,

0:10:06.733,0:10:08.353
"because how one lives

0:10:08.353,0:10:11.132
"and how one ought to[br]live are so far apart

0:10:11.132,0:10:14.841
"that a ruler who persists in[br]doing what ought to be done

0:10:14.841,0:10:17.706
"will undermine his power."

0:10:17.706,0:10:22.207
- He says, "I'm trying to[br]write something useful, utile,

0:10:22.207,0:10:26.265
"and so what I say in this[br]book departs massively,"

0:10:26.265,0:10:27.863
the Italian says massima,

0:10:27.863,0:10:30.549
"it departs massively from[br]what anyone has ever written

0:10:30.549,0:10:31.977
"on this subject."

0:10:31.977,0:10:34.650
So he knows that it's[br]a revolutionary book.

0:10:34.650,0:10:38.543
- The intent of the[br]book was to be a guide,

0:10:38.543,0:10:43.323
a kind of handbook for[br]politically ambitious leaders.

0:10:43.323,0:10:46.658
You can play the game for good[br]or you can play it for ill.

0:10:46.658,0:10:50.825
For Machiavelli, it's more[br]important to play the game well

0:10:52.002,0:10:54.002
than to be morally good.

0:10:55.261,0:10:58.535
- Chapter 18, Of the Need for[br]Princes to Keep Their Word.

0:10:58.535,0:11:00.851
"Everybody knows how[br]commendable it is for a ruler

0:11:00.851,0:11:03.133
"to keep his word and live by integrity

0:11:03.133,0:11:04.862
"rather than by cunning,

0:11:04.862,0:11:07.703
"and yet experience shows us

0:11:07.703,0:11:10.429
"that rulers with little[br]regard for their word

0:11:10.429,0:11:13.354
"have achieved great things,

0:11:13.354,0:11:16.687
"being expert at beguiling men's minds."

0:11:17.673,0:11:19.754
- The first generation[br]who opened this book,

0:11:19.754,0:11:21.609
if they came to chapter 18 and read it,

0:11:21.609,0:11:24.107
they would have been astounded by this.

0:11:24.107,0:11:27.589
In Roman law, there is a maxim which says

0:11:27.589,0:11:29.521
good faith must always be kept.

0:11:29.521,0:11:30.778
You must always keep your promises.

0:11:30.778,0:11:33.144
(speaking in foreign language)

0:11:33.144,0:11:35.175
And that chapter was, I think,

0:11:35.175,0:11:38.902
the one that gave it its[br]most sinister reputation.

0:11:38.902,0:11:41.747
- "A prince must be a[br]fox to spot the snares

0:11:41.747,0:11:44.664
"and a lion to overwhelm the wolves.

0:11:44.664,0:11:46.896
"Those who rely merely[br]upon the lion's strength

0:11:46.896,0:11:48.646
"do not understand this.

0:11:48.646,0:11:52.238
"Therefore, a prudent[br]ruler cannot keep his word,

0:11:52.238,0:11:53.484
"nor should he,

0:11:53.484,0:11:56.186
"when it would be to his[br]disadvantage to do so.

0:11:56.186,0:11:59.008
"If all men were good,[br]this rule would not stand.

0:11:59.008,0:12:01.026
"But as men are wicked

0:12:01.026,0:12:03.126
"and not prepared to[br]keep their word to you,

0:12:03.126,0:12:06.876
"you have no need to[br]keep your word to them."

0:12:07.772,0:12:10.449
- He knew very well the[br]nature of human beings

0:12:10.449,0:12:13.617
and how they behave or not behave.

0:12:13.617,0:12:17.700
So he is a man who is used[br]to being in the world.

0:12:18.919,0:12:22.300
- "Those best able to imitate[br]the fox have succeeded best.

0:12:22.300,0:12:25.495
"But foxiness should be well concealed.

0:12:25.495,0:12:29.127
"One must be a great[br]feigner and dissembler.

0:12:29.127,0:12:31.420
"A deceiver will always find someone

0:12:31.420,0:12:34.084
"willing to be deceived."

0:12:34.084,0:12:35.556
- What's interesting about the book,

0:12:35.556,0:12:38.226
it's a bit like it says,

0:12:38.226,0:12:42.051
"We've inherited an[br]idea about human nature

0:12:42.051,0:12:45.491
"from Christianity and[br]classical humanism."

0:12:45.491,0:12:49.160
And this idea of human nature[br]is encouraging us to be good.

0:12:49.160,0:12:51.308
And what Machiavelli is saying is,

0:12:51.308,0:12:53.565
what about if we thought[br]differently about this?

0:12:53.565,0:12:56.526
What about if we thought[br]that vices and virtues

0:12:56.526,0:13:00.405
were things you could use to survive?

0:13:00.405,0:13:02.603
- "If a ruler who wants[br]always to act honorably

0:13:02.603,0:13:04.977
"is surrounded by many unscrupulous men,

0:13:04.977,0:13:07.689
"his downfall is inevitable.

0:13:07.689,0:13:08.899
"Therefore, it is necessary

0:13:08.899,0:13:11.397
"for a ruler who wishes[br]to maintain his position

0:13:11.397,0:13:14.814
"to learn how to be able not to be good."

0:13:16.569,0:13:19.235
- To any Christian reader[br]of Machiavelli at the time,

0:13:19.235,0:13:20.637
they're going to say,

0:13:20.637,0:13:22.558
but you're forgetting the Day of Judgment.

0:13:22.558,0:13:25.435
On the Day of Judgment, all[br]your sins will be revealed

0:13:25.435,0:13:27.069
and you will very much[br]wish that you hadn't

0:13:27.069,0:13:28.304
behaved like that.

0:13:28.304,0:13:31.796
Now, Machiavelli pays[br]no attention to that.

0:13:31.796,0:13:34.421
That's a huge silence in the book.

0:13:34.421,0:13:37.571
It's just not there as a consideration.

0:13:37.571,0:13:39.824
The book is predicated on the assumption

0:13:39.824,0:13:42.545
that the idea that your[br]sins will find you out

0:13:42.545,0:13:46.712
is a childish superstition,[br]they will not find you out.

0:13:48.491,0:13:50.528
- Machiavelli is saying[br]something very simply, which is,

0:13:50.528,0:13:51.992
these are wonderful pictures,

0:13:51.992,0:13:53.711
but they've got nothing[br]to do with reality.

0:13:53.711,0:13:55.600
It's not as though if you're[br]good, you'll be rewarded,

0:13:55.600,0:13:56.758
it's not a deal.

0:13:56.758,0:13:58.761
Actually, it doesn't matter[br]whether you're good or bad

0:13:58.761,0:14:01.077
in terms of, it doesn't predict anything.

0:14:01.077,0:14:04.246
So what Machiavelli is saying[br]in contemporary language is,

0:14:04.246,0:14:05.913
we need to get real.

0:14:14.295,0:14:16.394
- [Alan] This is Jonathan Powell.

0:14:16.394,0:14:19.476
He used to be Tony Blair's Chief of Staff.

0:14:19.476,0:14:20.878
Now, he's written a memoir

0:14:20.878,0:14:22.994
called The New Machiavelli:

0:14:22.994,0:14:26.894
How To Wield Power In The Modern World.

0:14:26.894,0:14:29.619
- "The choice of advisers is[br]very important for a prince.

0:14:29.619,0:14:31.606
"One can assess their[br]prince's intelligence

0:14:31.606,0:14:35.542
"by looking at the men with[br]whom he surrounds himself."

0:14:35.542,0:14:36.891
- So I'm kind of asking myself

0:14:36.891,0:14:41.366
why you called your book[br]The New Machiavelli?

0:14:41.366,0:14:42.602
I mean, what made you do that?

0:14:42.602,0:14:43.868
Because a lot of people might have thought

0:14:43.868,0:14:45.566
that was a term of abuse.

0:14:45.566,0:14:46.848
- Well, I wanted to write a book

0:14:46.848,0:14:48.492
that was actually useful to people

0:14:48.492,0:14:49.460
who were in government.

0:14:49.460,0:14:51.687
There are an awful lot of books of theory,

0:14:51.687,0:14:53.241
constitutional books,

0:14:53.241,0:14:54.688
most of which are completely useless

0:14:54.688,0:14:56.525
because they describe[br]the way things should be,

0:14:56.525,0:14:58.101
rather than the way things are.

0:14:58.101,0:15:01.388
What's great about Machiavelli[br]is, he writes about reality.

0:15:01.388,0:15:04.770
He busts myths, he cuts[br]through all of that.

0:15:04.770,0:15:08.767
- The word "Machiavellian"[br]was used 358 times

0:15:08.767,0:15:12.991
by the newspapers in the first[br]year of Tony Blair's reign.

0:15:12.991,0:15:15.916
Somewhere in there, there's a connection.

0:15:15.916,0:15:18.272
There are quite a lot of[br]factors about Machiavelli

0:15:18.272,0:15:20.624
which are ones that many[br]politicians would not

0:15:20.624,0:15:22.064
want to own up to.

0:15:22.064,0:15:24.475
For instance, chapter 15,

0:15:24.475,0:15:26.311
"It is necessary for a prince who wishes

0:15:26.311,0:15:28.029
"to maintain his position

0:15:28.029,0:15:31.446
"to learn how to be able not to be good."

0:15:32.406,0:15:34.960
- Machiavelli was saying not that princes

0:15:34.960,0:15:37.035
should go around being evil,

0:15:37.035,0:15:38.026
what he was saying is,

0:15:38.026,0:15:39.995
you have to check your[br]personal morality at the door

0:15:39.995,0:15:41.397
when you become a leader.

0:15:41.397,0:15:44.767
Personal morality is all[br]very well as an individual,

0:15:44.767,0:15:46.090
but if you are thinking about the greater

0:15:46.090,0:15:47.065
good of the community,

0:15:47.065,0:15:48.420
sometimes you'll have to do things

0:15:48.420,0:15:50.218
that are not good as an individual,

0:15:50.218,0:15:52.064
but are good for society as a whole.

0:15:52.064,0:15:55.744
- "A prince must therefore[br]be a fox to spot the snares

0:15:55.744,0:15:58.656
"and a lion to overwhelm the wolves."

0:15:58.656,0:16:00.533
- This is one of Machiavelli's[br]most interesting lessons.

0:16:00.533,0:16:02.343
You must be a lion, a courageous person,

0:16:02.343,0:16:03.434
but you also had to be a fox

0:16:03.434,0:16:06.518
and have the intelligence[br]and the guile to avoid traps.

0:16:06.518,0:16:08.173
There was an example for Tony Blair

0:16:08.173,0:16:10.983
when he was running in the 2005 election.

0:16:10.983,0:16:14.030
Tony Blair decided he had to[br]make a speech on immigration.

0:16:14.030,0:16:15.902
- [Newsreader] Tony Blair[br]said controls on immigration

0:16:15.902,0:16:17.921
had already had a positive effect.

0:16:17.921,0:16:19.491
- When he finished, I said to him,

0:16:19.491,0:16:21.191
I noticed the teleprompter had gone wrong,

0:16:21.191,0:16:22.659
because large parts of the speech,

0:16:22.659,0:16:23.738
you were looking down at your notes

0:16:23.738,0:16:24.723
as opposed to looking at the camera.

0:16:24.723,0:16:25.823
What happened?

0:16:25.823,0:16:27.338
He said, "There was nothing[br]wrong with the teleprompter,

0:16:27.338,0:16:28.478
"just certain bits of the speech

0:16:28.478,0:16:29.870
"I didn't want shown on television,

0:16:29.870,0:16:31.490
"so I made sure I was looking at my notes,

0:16:31.490,0:16:33.868
"so those bits wouldn't be[br]used by television news."

0:16:33.868,0:16:36.053
That was the fox bit.

0:16:36.053,0:16:37.813
- [Alan] Did Tony Blair[br]ever talk about The Prince?

0:16:37.813,0:16:39.598
Did he ever read it, do you think?

0:16:39.598,0:16:40.580
- I've no idea if he read it.

0:16:40.580,0:16:41.819
He certainly never talked about it.

0:16:41.819,0:16:43.438
I think he might be slightly[br]horrified to be thought of

0:16:43.438,0:16:47.605
as a Machiavellian leader,[br]but I mean it as a compliment.

0:16:50.404,0:16:52.205
- [Alan] Robert Greene[br]has also been bringing

0:16:52.205,0:16:54.825
The Prince into the modern world.

0:16:54.825,0:16:56.308
He used to work in Hollywood.

0:16:56.308,0:17:00.475
Now, he writes bestsellers[br]like The 48 Laws Of Power.

0:17:01.974,0:17:04.073
- The traditional way[br]of looking at politics

0:17:04.073,0:17:06.425
is veiled with all of these concepts

0:17:06.425,0:17:08.489
of what's good for the public,

0:17:08.489,0:17:11.118
of politicians' intentions,

0:17:11.118,0:17:13.983
of being altruistic and generous.

0:17:13.983,0:17:17.336
And what Machiavelli did[br]is take all of that away.

0:17:17.336,0:17:19.721
Look at power as it is.

0:17:19.721,0:17:23.117
Watch the moves of the various[br]people on the chessboard.

0:17:23.117,0:17:26.069
So, it's pure strategy and[br]it was absolutely brilliant,

0:17:26.069,0:17:30.656
he's the first person to ever[br]come up with that concept.

0:17:30.656,0:17:32.957
There are different types[br]of political leaders.

0:17:32.957,0:17:37.389
There are the types who come[br]into office with high ideals.

0:17:37.389,0:17:40.633
They want to change things,[br]they want to reform.

0:17:40.633,0:17:42.283
They believe that they're doing something

0:17:42.283,0:17:43.468
for the good of the public

0:17:43.468,0:17:45.592
and then they realize very quickly

0:17:45.592,0:17:48.126
that politics is warfare.

0:17:48.126,0:17:50.119
And they have to adapt to this environment

0:17:50.119,0:17:51.391
and leaders like that,

0:17:51.391,0:17:53.686
perhaps Obama would[br]fit into that category,

0:17:53.686,0:17:56.024
can do very well if they're adaptable.

0:17:56.024,0:17:58.131
Then you have other types[br]like a Bill Clinton,

0:17:58.131,0:17:59.394
perhaps a Tony Blair,

0:17:59.394,0:18:01.840
or if you're Angela Merkel,

0:18:01.840,0:18:04.771
these are more political[br]animals by nature.

0:18:04.771,0:18:07.518
They are very Machiavellian,[br]it's in their DNA.

0:18:07.518,0:18:09.786
They don't need to read The Prince,

0:18:09.786,0:18:12.725
they understand how the[br]laws of power operate.

0:18:12.725,0:18:14.759
So, if you are in a position of power,

0:18:14.759,0:18:16.678
you have to play a game.

0:18:16.678,0:18:18.355
The dynamic doesn't matter,

0:18:18.355,0:18:21.938
whether it's a dictatorship[br]or a democracy.

0:18:24.140,0:18:25.365
- What The Prince is, in a sense,

0:18:25.365,0:18:29.983
is a portrayal of the[br]attributes and qualities

0:18:29.983,0:18:32.291
that you need to take[br]the power that you have

0:18:32.291,0:18:34.711
and develop that power in a[br]way that is most useful to you

0:18:34.711,0:18:36.250
and what you are trying to do.

0:18:36.250,0:18:40.083
Well, that is the case[br]today for Barack Obama,

0:18:41.677,0:18:44.655
today for Angela Merkel, David Cameron,

0:18:44.655,0:18:45.639
and all the rest of them.

0:18:45.639,0:18:48.312
That's partly what they're about,

0:18:48.312,0:18:52.131
because we can be very squeamish[br]about this, if we want,

0:18:52.131,0:18:55.631
but the truth is, power is, it is a force.

0:18:58.935,0:19:01.475
- Money is the McMansion in Sarasota

0:19:01.475,0:19:03.582
that starts falling apart after 10 years.

0:19:03.582,0:19:07.749
Power is the old stone building[br]that stands for centuries.

0:19:09.306,0:19:12.899
I cannot respect someone who[br]doesn't see the difference.

0:19:12.899,0:19:14.992
- [Alan] The allure of[br]power is a big theme

0:19:14.992,0:19:16.942
in drama at the moment.

0:19:16.942,0:19:19.074
In the hit series House of Cards,

0:19:19.074,0:19:22.174
Kevin Spacey plays the[br]Machiavellian senator,

0:19:22.174,0:19:23.507
Frank Underwood.

0:19:25.328,0:19:27.357
It's a remake of the earlier series

0:19:27.357,0:19:30.234
starring Ian Richardson[br]as Francis Urquhart,

0:19:30.234,0:19:33.276
written by Margaret[br]Thatcher's Chief of Staff,

0:19:33.276,0:19:34.443
Michael Dobbs.

0:19:35.725,0:19:37.510
- There's a dramatic thread that runs

0:19:37.510,0:19:39.182
all the way from Machiavelli

0:19:39.182,0:19:41.951
through Richard III[br]through Francis Urquhart

0:19:41.951,0:19:43.893
and Frank Underwood just talking to you,

0:19:43.893,0:19:46.705
letting you in on the secrets of power.

0:19:46.705,0:19:50.293
- I think you could achieve[br]anything you wanted.

0:19:50.293,0:19:53.445
- You might think that, Mattie,

0:19:53.445,0:19:57.517
I'm afraid I couldn't possibly comment.

0:19:57.517,0:20:00.302
- And you think that this is wonderful,

0:20:00.302,0:20:01.281
you're being trusted,

0:20:01.281,0:20:04.884
you're being made a co-conspirator.

0:20:04.884,0:20:06.634
- I'm terribly sorry.

0:20:08.744,0:20:10.494
- Thank you, Francis.

0:20:11.687,0:20:13.187
You're a good man.

0:20:19.346,0:20:22.441
- The Tory Party in[br]the 1987-88 period when

0:20:22.441,0:20:24.661
just before Margaret[br]Thatcher was pushed out,

0:20:24.661,0:20:26.234
which was when I wrote House of Cards,

0:20:26.234,0:20:28.501
it was like Florence under the Borgias.

0:20:28.501,0:20:30.918
I mean, it was full of[br]conspiracy in dark corners

0:20:30.918,0:20:32.811
and people whispering wicked things.

0:20:32.811,0:20:35.380
So it wasn't so much that

0:20:35.380,0:20:38.095
I must write something[br]which is Machiavellian.

0:20:38.095,0:20:41.480
I had, I think, lived though a time

0:20:41.480,0:20:43.347
and was living though a time

0:20:43.347,0:20:46.774
which I think Machiavelli[br]himself would have recognized.

0:20:46.774,0:20:49.388
I think that this particular book of mine

0:20:49.388,0:20:50.840
goes back to my university days,

0:20:50.840,0:20:52.436
and it's stayed with me ever since.

0:20:52.436,0:20:55.494
It's a wonderful book for dipping into.

0:20:55.494,0:20:57.860
He's actually saying,[br]this is the way you do it.

0:20:57.860,0:20:59.491
And you could be the most principled

0:20:59.491,0:21:01.746
politician on the earth,

0:21:01.746,0:21:04.245
but unless you get your fingers on power

0:21:04.245,0:21:06.645
and know how to pull the levers,

0:21:06.645,0:21:08.728
you're wasting your time.

0:21:09.823,0:21:12.215
- [Alan] For centuries, The[br]Prince has been inspiring

0:21:12.215,0:21:14.651
the powerful and the tyrannical.

0:21:14.651,0:21:15.944
Napoleon read it.

0:21:15.944,0:21:17.390
So did Stalin.

0:21:17.390,0:21:19.380
He made notes in the margin.

0:21:19.380,0:21:22.484
Mussolini even did his dissertation on it.

0:21:22.484,0:21:24.634
It's always been the book of choice

0:21:24.634,0:21:26.634
for political operators.

0:21:27.543,0:21:29.578
- It's true that The[br]Prince was the favorite

0:21:29.578,0:21:31.078
bedside reading of

0:21:32.410,0:21:34.577
Henry Kissinger and Nixon.

0:21:35.640,0:21:37.320
And for a good reason,

0:21:37.320,0:21:40.428
because they were hard-nosed[br]political realists.

0:21:40.428,0:21:42.685
And part of the fascination of The Prince

0:21:42.685,0:21:45.983
is that it shows us what[br]the world looks like

0:21:45.983,0:21:48.671
when the ethical dimensions have been

0:21:48.671,0:21:50.904
removed from the picture.

0:21:50.904,0:21:54.214
And I think for someone like[br]Henry Kissinger or Nixon,

0:21:54.214,0:21:58.103
there was a certain[br]pleasure in reading a book

0:21:58.103,0:22:01.847
that looked at the world[br]the same way they did

0:22:01.847,0:22:05.014
and the same way many other people do.

0:22:05.983,0:22:09.084
- [Alan] Machiavelli is perhaps[br]most famous for the phrase

0:22:09.084,0:22:11.663
"the end justifies the means."

0:22:11.663,0:22:13.958
Actually, he never said it.

0:22:13.958,0:22:16.244
But he may as well have done.

0:22:16.244,0:22:18.287
- The exact thought that's[br]there in The Prince is,

0:22:18.287,0:22:22.190
"the action is accused and[br]the outcome excuses it."

0:22:22.190,0:22:24.348
So in the Italian, it's very beautiful.

0:22:24.348,0:22:26.532
It's accusata and scusata.

0:22:26.532,0:22:28.991
It accuses you, but it excuses you.

0:22:28.991,0:22:33.047
So you are excused if the[br]motivation for the action

0:22:33.047,0:22:34.787
was the good of the state.

0:22:34.787,0:22:36.515
- We have to do justice to Machiavelli

0:22:36.515,0:22:39.132
because it's not a[br]matter of personal career

0:22:39.132,0:22:41.231
or for just his own sake,

0:22:41.231,0:22:44.243
it's also for a political purpose.

0:22:44.243,0:22:47.005
He was really convinced that

0:22:47.005,0:22:49.391
the stability of government in Florence

0:22:49.391,0:22:52.308
was the most important thing to do.

0:22:53.641,0:22:56.308
For the sake of the common good,

0:22:57.662,0:23:00.815
you have to act in a bad manner.

0:23:00.815,0:23:02.065
Just sometimes.

0:23:04.953,0:23:07.936
- But if you have to do something[br]which is really terrible,

0:23:07.936,0:23:10.961
then you have to recognize[br]that it's really terrible.

0:23:10.961,0:23:13.037
But you still have to do it.

0:23:13.037,0:23:16.063
- I want them dead, mother and child both.

0:23:16.063,0:23:18.190
And that fool Viserys as well.

0:23:18.190,0:23:19.886
Is that plain enough for you?

0:23:19.886,0:23:21.290
I want them both dead.

0:23:21.290,0:23:23.345
- You'll dishonor yourself[br]for ever if you do this.

0:23:23.345,0:23:24.790
- Honor?

0:23:24.790,0:23:27.254
I've got seven kingdoms to rule!

0:23:27.254,0:23:29.994
- It's tough to be a ruler,

0:23:29.994,0:23:33.244
whether in Machiavelli's time or today.

0:23:35.274,0:23:39.525
- George R.R. Martin understands[br]the burden of command.

0:23:39.525,0:23:40.723
This is your chair.

0:23:40.723,0:23:42.016
This is your throne.

0:23:42.016,0:23:43.099
- [George] My throne?

0:23:43.099,0:23:44.447
- [Alan] He's the best-selling author

0:23:44.447,0:23:46.967
behind the TV series Game of Thrones,

0:23:46.967,0:23:50.800
set in an imaginary world[br]of warring kingdoms.

0:23:52.322,0:23:55.430
- Game of Thrones is a fantasy, of course.

0:23:55.430,0:23:59.597
I think a lot of the fantasy[br]that had gone before me

0:24:01.568,0:24:03.581
has this unspoken assumption

0:24:03.581,0:24:06.176
that if you are a good man,

0:24:06.176,0:24:09.824
you will be a good king or a good prince.

0:24:09.824,0:24:11.888
But if you look at the real world,

0:24:11.888,0:24:13.133
if you look at real history,

0:24:13.133,0:24:14.683
or if you look at contemporary times,

0:24:14.683,0:24:19.280
it's not enough just to[br]be a good guy, you know.

0:24:19.280,0:24:21.727
I read The Prince back in college,

0:24:21.727,0:24:23.625
which was, of course, many years ago.

0:24:23.625,0:24:28.019
And obviously, I absorbed[br]quite a few of its lessons.

0:24:28.019,0:24:30.145
- It is a terrible thing we must consider,

0:24:30.145,0:24:33.514
a vile thing, yet we who presume to rule

0:24:33.514,0:24:35.485
must sometimes do vile things

0:24:35.485,0:24:37.978
for the good of the realm.

0:24:37.978,0:24:39.228
- It's not enough just to say

0:24:39.228,0:24:41.424
I will be good and wise

0:24:41.424,0:24:43.332
and do the right thing.

0:24:43.332,0:24:44.916
What is the right thing?

0:24:44.916,0:24:46.583
That's the question.

0:24:47.772,0:24:49.576
- [Alan] Don't Be Evil.

0:24:49.576,0:24:52.520
That's what Google say is the right thing.

0:24:52.520,0:24:54.757
But isn't it precisely these user-friendly

0:24:54.757,0:24:56.530
global corporations

0:24:56.530,0:24:59.973
that are the modern day Machiavellians?

0:24:59.973,0:25:03.552
- Corporatism presents[br]a much more pleasant

0:25:03.552,0:25:05.415
face to the world,

0:25:05.415,0:25:08.008
but in that sense it may[br]be even more Machiavellian,

0:25:08.008,0:25:10.925
because it's smiling at us.

0:25:10.925,0:25:12.030
Is it benign?

0:25:12.030,0:25:12.867
I don't know.

0:25:12.867,0:25:13.700
Is it benign?

0:25:13.700,0:25:16.131
But it's certainly subtle.

0:25:16.131,0:25:19.400
- The motto of Google is don't be evil.

0:25:19.400,0:25:22.356
But don't look at the words,[br]look at their actions.

0:25:22.356,0:25:24.395
The data they are[br]gathering on individuals,

0:25:24.395,0:25:26.827
the global presence they have.

0:25:26.827,0:25:30.345
But in order to exercise[br]power in the world,

0:25:30.345,0:25:34.855
you have to give the appearance[br]of being nice and good.

0:25:34.855,0:25:37.642
If you look to be too ambitious for power,

0:25:37.642,0:25:39.200
people are gonna see that,

0:25:39.200,0:25:40.522
they're not gonna to like it.

0:25:40.522,0:25:42.335
The public wants to feel

0:25:42.335,0:25:45.330
that you are motivated by[br]some higher aspiration.

0:25:45.330,0:25:47.725
So you have to manage appearances.

0:25:47.725,0:25:51.840
And all of these companies[br]play the game like that.

0:25:51.840,0:25:53.507
- The mission of the[br]company is to make the world

0:25:53.507,0:25:54.862
more open and connected.

0:25:54.862,0:25:56.459
Everyone's gonna have a[br]much better experience

0:25:56.459,0:26:00.576
when they're doing different[br]things with their friends.

0:26:00.576,0:26:01.570
- "When ones sees him,

0:26:01.570,0:26:03.799
"a ruler must be a paragon of mercy,

0:26:03.799,0:26:07.952
"loyalty, humanness,[br]integrity and scrupulousness.

0:26:07.952,0:26:09.936
"Indeed, there is nothing more important

0:26:09.936,0:26:12.750
"than appearing to have this last quality.

0:26:12.750,0:26:14.674
"For the common people are impressed

0:26:14.674,0:26:17.091
"by appearances and results."

0:26:19.852,0:26:22.268
- Machiavelli is the first person ever

0:26:22.268,0:26:24.694
to analyze that phenomenon.

0:26:24.694,0:26:26.325
I think we're living in a period now

0:26:26.325,0:26:29.256
that's remarkably similar[br]to what Machiavelli

0:26:29.256,0:26:30.839
was living through.

0:26:31.834,0:26:34.327
- [Alan] And it's not just[br]with global tech companies

0:26:34.327,0:26:36.391
that appearances matter.

0:26:36.391,0:26:38.565
Machiavelli's rule applies everywhere,

0:26:38.565,0:26:42.852
not least, as Robert Greene[br]found out, in Hollywood.

0:26:42.852,0:26:47.110
- If you go into a meeting[br]and you give off confidence,

0:26:47.110,0:26:49.209
like you could pull this off,

0:26:49.209,0:26:51.730
like you can see it[br]all the way to the end,

0:26:51.730,0:26:53.221
that you know what you're doing,

0:26:53.221,0:26:54.946
you're gonna go a lot further

0:26:54.946,0:26:57.086
than somebody who might[br]have a brilliant idea,

0:26:57.086,0:26:58.943
but doesn't know how to pitch it as well.

0:26:58.943,0:27:00.622
I know, for example,

0:27:00.622,0:27:03.348
that I made that mistake[br]recently in a meeting,

0:27:03.348,0:27:07.465
that we didn't exude that[br]insane sense of confidence

0:27:07.465,0:27:10.246
that we were gonna get this project done.

0:27:10.246,0:27:13.746
So it's a realm of appearances, basically.

0:27:16.236,0:27:17.592
- [Alan] But for Machiavelli,

0:27:17.592,0:27:20.386
no one who wants to succeed[br]in the game of power

0:27:20.386,0:27:22.553
can escape one key factor.

0:27:23.410,0:27:24.525
Luck.

0:27:24.525,0:27:28.328
Fortuna, he calls it, that[br]capricious turn of the wheel

0:27:28.328,0:27:31.675
by which the ambitious rise and fall,

0:27:31.675,0:27:34.592
and never more so than in politics.

0:27:35.541,0:27:37.640
- What does it mean to be[br]able to make your fortune?

0:27:37.640,0:27:40.487
It is to have the[br]qualities that enable you

0:27:40.487,0:27:41.904
to dominate luck.

0:27:43.184,0:27:45.510
So wow can you hope to dominate luck?

0:27:45.510,0:27:47.111
Well, in the end, you can't.

0:27:47.111,0:27:49.836
Fortune is always more[br]powerful than reason.

0:27:49.836,0:27:52.765
But there are qualities that enable you,

0:27:52.765,0:27:57.229
as the excellent American[br]phrase puts it, to get lucky.

0:27:57.229,0:27:58.956
But, of course, you[br]could, as a politician,

0:27:58.956,0:28:02.089
simply have an amazing stroke of luck

0:28:02.089,0:28:03.471
from which everything follows.

0:28:03.471,0:28:06.410
And Tony Blair would certainly[br]be an example of that.

0:28:06.410,0:28:08.412
- [Man] The body of John Smith was carried

0:28:08.412,0:28:09.344
into the parish...

0:28:09.344,0:28:11.913
- John Smith, who was[br]Leader of the Opposition,

0:28:11.913,0:28:15.080
dies very suddenly in his mid-fifties.

0:28:16.188,0:28:20.829
So Blair becomes Leader of the[br]Opposition at the age of 41,

0:28:20.829,0:28:23.473
when he had no expectation of the leader

0:28:23.473,0:28:24.544
dying in the mid-fifties.

0:28:24.544,0:28:26.340
People don't die in their mid-fifties.

0:28:26.340,0:28:28.091
But John Smith did.

0:28:28.091,0:28:30.825
- This morning, I'm[br]announcing my candidature

0:28:30.825,0:28:35.124
for the position of Leader[br]of the Labour Party.

0:28:35.124,0:28:37.452
- Now there's no successful politician

0:28:37.452,0:28:40.134
who hasn't, at some[br]point, had pure good luck.

0:28:40.134,0:28:43.648
And Tony Blair's pure good[br]luck, terrible thing to say,

0:28:43.648,0:28:44.879
but was the death of John Smith.

0:28:44.879,0:28:46.403
Surely he would have won that election,

0:28:46.403,0:28:47.770
so he would have been Prime Minister.

0:28:47.770,0:28:49.824
But instead, it was Blair.

0:28:49.824,0:28:52.028
- A new dawn has broken, has it not?

0:28:52.028,0:28:53.413
(crowd cheering)

0:28:53.413,0:28:56.476
- He had the Fortuna, he had[br]the luck, and he grabbed it.

0:28:56.476,0:28:58.307
He had the opportunity to become[br]Leader of the Labour Party

0:28:58.307,0:29:00.528
when John Smith died, and he grabbed it.

0:29:00.528,0:29:01.998
And he made something of it.

0:29:01.998,0:29:04.847
So I think he was a classically[br]Machiavellian leader,

0:29:04.847,0:29:06.847
from that point of view.

0:29:10.393,0:29:14.954
- [Alan] For Machiavelli, the[br]flip side of Fortuna is Virtu.

0:29:14.954,0:29:16.933
He doesn't mean virtue, of course,

0:29:16.933,0:29:19.433
he means a kind of virtuosity.

0:29:20.416,0:29:23.421
- In Latin, the word for a man is vir,

0:29:23.421,0:29:25.811
the source of our word virile.

0:29:25.811,0:29:27.790
It's this principle of manliness,

0:29:27.790,0:29:30.596
of courage, of prudence,

0:29:30.596,0:29:33.170
of knowing how to master fortune.

0:29:33.170,0:29:36.159
So that's what virtue is, because[br]if you can master fortune,

0:29:36.159,0:29:40.326
you can maintain your state[br]and thereby gain glory.

0:29:42.376,0:29:44.126
- "This raises the question[br]of whether it is better

0:29:44.126,0:29:46.252
"to be loved than feared.

0:29:46.252,0:29:48.976
"My reply is that one[br]would like to be both,

0:29:48.976,0:29:52.693
"but as it is difficult[br]to combine love and fear,

0:29:52.693,0:29:55.193
"it is far safer to be feared,

0:29:56.916,0:29:58.243
"because it can be said of men

0:29:58.243,0:30:03.124
"that they're ungrateful,[br]fickle liars and deceivers.

0:30:03.124,0:30:07.522
"They shun danger and[br]are greedy for profit."

0:30:07.522,0:30:09.144
- He recommends fear over love.

0:30:09.144,0:30:12.515
Of course, he says it's better to be both,

0:30:12.515,0:30:14.197
but if you have to choose between the two,

0:30:14.197,0:30:16.286
it's better to be feared.

0:30:16.286,0:30:18.108
- "The bond of love is one that men break

0:30:18.108,0:30:20.468
"when it is to their advantage to do so,

0:30:20.468,0:30:24.323
"but fear is strengthened[br]by the dread of punishment,

0:30:24.323,0:30:27.249
"which is always effective."

0:30:27.249,0:30:29.706
- Fear is something that you can rely on

0:30:29.706,0:30:33.013
as a very stable sort[br]of emotional foundation

0:30:33.013,0:30:34.884
to build your power on.

0:30:34.884,0:30:37.591
Machiavelli was all about power,

0:30:37.591,0:30:40.091
of the Prince or of the state.

0:30:46.015,0:30:48.087
- This is a remarkable[br]moment in The Prince

0:30:48.087,0:30:49.224
because it's the only moment

0:30:49.224,0:30:52.152
when he really generalizes[br]about human nature.

0:30:52.152,0:30:56.168
He says that most people are[br]fickle, you can't trust them.

0:30:56.168,0:30:58.667
They are going to do everything

0:30:58.667,0:31:00.156
that is in their own interest

0:31:00.156,0:31:01.835
and not in your interest.

0:31:01.835,0:31:04.079
So what would be the point of trying to

0:31:04.079,0:31:06.570
bind them to you by affection?

0:31:06.570,0:31:08.264
They'll simply sell you down the river.

0:31:08.264,0:31:11.181
You've got to make them frightened.

0:31:13.290,0:31:15.066
- "If one has to choose between them,

0:31:15.066,0:31:18.645
"it is far safer to be feared than loved."

0:31:18.645,0:31:19.901
- Very true of politicians now.

0:31:19.901,0:31:21.197
If you think about politicians,

0:31:21.197,0:31:23.271
you can be absolutely[br]beloved of your party.

0:31:23.271,0:31:25.522
Neil Kinnock was beloved[br]of the Labour Party.

0:31:25.522,0:31:27.198
Every time he went through[br]a Prime Minister's question

0:31:27.198,0:31:29.070
or was bashed to pieces by Mrs. Thatcher,

0:31:29.070,0:31:31.604
the whole Labour Party suffered with him.

0:31:31.604,0:31:33.048
But he could never be elected because

0:31:33.048,0:31:35.069
he didn't have that aspect of fear.

0:31:35.069,0:31:37.496
Mrs. Thatcher was never[br]much liked by her troops,

0:31:37.496,0:31:39.292
she was feared and respected.

0:31:39.292,0:31:41.799
So she was someone who was[br]feared rather than loved.

0:31:41.799,0:31:43.459
Machiavelli says the point is

0:31:43.459,0:31:45.988
that being loved is a[br]reciprocal relationship.

0:31:45.988,0:31:47.415
The person can stop loving you,

0:31:47.415,0:31:49.262
whereas fear is a one-way thing.

0:31:49.262,0:31:50.377
They can't stop fearing you

0:31:50.377,0:31:52.840
as long as you have the[br]means to make them fear.

0:31:52.840,0:31:55.215
- Through it all, the fear point

0:31:55.215,0:31:56.811
is really, really important.

0:31:56.811,0:32:00.695
When the leader goes into a gathering,

0:32:00.695,0:32:03.073
there has to be a sense that that person

0:32:03.073,0:32:07.278
is the main event in[br]that room at that time.

0:32:07.278,0:32:09.481
Now they can emanate all sorts of charm

0:32:09.481,0:32:12.162
and niceness and all the rest of it,

0:32:12.162,0:32:14.224
but, you know, look at what happens

0:32:14.224,0:32:16.383
within our political system

0:32:16.383,0:32:19.538
in the run-up to a re-shuffle.

0:32:19.538,0:32:22.732
I can remember the very first[br]time he did a re-shuffle.

0:32:22.732,0:32:24.413
I mean, he wasn't quite physically sick,

0:32:24.413,0:32:25.815
but he wasn't far off it.

0:32:25.815,0:32:27.732
He absolutely hated it.

0:32:28.585,0:32:31.920
And he definitely got[br]tougher as time went on.

0:32:31.920,0:32:34.960
- Out went Charles Clarke,[br]after so many bad headlines...

0:32:34.960,0:32:37.538
- Come the last re-shuffle that I was,

0:32:37.538,0:32:39.697
as it were, directly involved in,

0:32:39.697,0:32:41.655
once he'd done the big beasts,

0:32:41.655,0:32:43.095
and done them all face-to-face,

0:32:43.095,0:32:46.212
he kind of had a list of[br]people that he did by phone.

0:32:46.212,0:32:49.379
And was pretty swift about it as well.

0:32:51.611,0:32:53.881
Look, you've probably heard[br]I'm doing a re-shuffle

0:32:53.881,0:32:56.208
and I'm afraid I'm going[br]to have to ask for your job

0:32:56.208,0:32:58.140
because we need to make some changes.

0:32:58.140,0:33:00.390
And um, well, there we are.

0:33:01.381,0:33:03.973
- [Alan] Is it useful that[br]they feel slightly fearful?

0:33:03.973,0:33:06.265
- I think if leaders are being really,

0:33:06.265,0:33:07.293
really honest about it,

0:33:07.293,0:33:09.931
I think that is quite useful at times.

0:33:09.931,0:33:13.473
- The ruler needs to be[br]able to intimidate people,

0:33:13.473,0:33:15.118
for lack of a better word,

0:33:15.118,0:33:17.672
needs to be able, well, in extreme cases

0:33:17.672,0:33:21.303
like Renaissance Italy,[br]to execute his enemies.

0:33:21.303,0:33:25.411
In modern times, it would[br]be more to fire people.

0:33:25.411,0:33:26.490
- [Alan] For Machiavelli,

0:33:26.490,0:33:29.757
not even the most loyal[br]servant should be spared.

0:33:29.757,0:33:32.465
If you have to get rid of[br]them to maintain power,

0:33:32.465,0:33:33.965
then they must go.

0:33:35.296,0:33:38.193
- Better to be feared than loved.

0:33:38.193,0:33:40.738
I would say that to be feared

0:33:40.738,0:33:43.650
is far better than to be loved.

0:33:43.650,0:33:46.889
There has to be, between[br]an employer and employee,

0:33:46.889,0:33:49.342
a tiny little bit of fear.

0:33:49.342,0:33:51.103
But I certainly don't need to be loved

0:33:51.103,0:33:53.020
by anybody in business.

0:33:54.393,0:33:56.215
- [Man] These are the Dragons.

0:33:56.215,0:33:57.799
Five of Britain's wealthiest

0:33:57.799,0:34:01.004
and most enterprising business leaders.

0:34:01.004,0:34:02.444
- [Alan] Multimillionaire businesswoman

0:34:02.444,0:34:04.653
and former Dragon Hilary Devey

0:34:04.653,0:34:07.520
first read The Prince[br]when she was at school.

0:34:07.520,0:34:11.054
16th century political analysis[br]may have felt like a chore

0:34:11.054,0:34:14.059
but it's certainly left its mark.

0:34:14.059,0:34:15.641
- Let's face it, for a 15-year-old,

0:34:15.641,0:34:17.498
even for a 50-year-old,

0:34:17.498,0:34:20.668
it's heavy going, it's a hard read.

0:34:20.668,0:34:23.085
Because it's very thought-provoking,

0:34:23.085,0:34:25.902
which is what it's meant to be.

0:34:25.902,0:34:28.409
I think I can bring a lot to the party.

0:34:28.409,0:34:32.058
I've a lot of access into major retailers.

0:34:32.058,0:34:34.891
So I'll offer you the full 70,000.

0:34:35.764,0:34:37.598
But I'd like 20%.

0:34:40.398,0:34:42.245
If you actually watch Dragons' Den,

0:34:42.245,0:34:46.382
it couldn't be more[br]Machiavellian if it tried.

0:34:46.382,0:34:48.916
And if you look at each[br]one of the Dragons,

0:34:48.916,0:34:51.293
every single one of them has something

0:34:51.293,0:34:53.376
Machiavellian about them.

0:34:54.261,0:34:56.297
- I'll offer you 70,000 pound

0:34:56.297,0:34:59.057
for 10% of the company.

0:34:59.057,0:35:02.777
- I simply couldn't believe[br]how Machiavellian they were.

0:35:02.777,0:35:04.423
And it took me a little while,

0:35:04.423,0:35:06.365
perhaps a month, six weeks,

0:35:06.365,0:35:09.605
to finally understand what the strategy,

0:35:09.605,0:35:11.326
what the game plan was.

0:35:11.326,0:35:13.120
And once I did, of course,

0:35:13.120,0:35:16.214
I joined in and I became one of them.

0:35:16.214,0:35:18.606
- [Man] Only Hilary Devey remains.

0:35:18.606,0:35:23.335
Will she see an opportunity[br]where her rivals have not?

0:35:23.335,0:35:27.017
- If I was to offer you the 50,000 pound

0:35:27.017,0:35:30.005
for 95% of your company,

0:35:30.005,0:35:31.588
what would you say?

0:35:32.590,0:35:34.244
I think it is an important book.

0:35:34.244,0:35:36.464
And I think his principles are the same

0:35:36.464,0:35:38.181
principles as mine, in a way,

0:35:38.181,0:35:42.849
where I say the only difference[br]between me and Machiavelli

0:35:42.849,0:35:45.262
is that I make a commercial decision.

0:35:45.262,0:35:46.869
And I will take whatever amount of

0:35:46.869,0:35:50.108
compassion is required out[br]of that commercial decision.

0:35:50.108,0:35:52.895
But what I will then do[br]is put compassion back in.

0:35:52.895,0:35:56.624
So I'm having to do this because XYZ,

0:35:56.624,0:35:58.541
now how can I help you?

0:36:01.519,0:36:02.947
- Chapter 19.

0:36:02.947,0:36:05.707
How to avoid contempt and hatred.

0:36:05.707,0:36:08.728
"Princes must delegate[br]difficult tasks to others

0:36:08.728,0:36:12.418
"and keep popular ones for themselves."

0:36:12.418,0:36:14.937
- The Prince must never be hated.

0:36:14.937,0:36:17.506
If you're hated then[br]you'll lose your state

0:36:17.506,0:36:19.220
because there will be some good reason

0:36:19.220,0:36:21.485
why the people hate you[br]and they wont tolerate it.

0:36:21.485,0:36:24.750
Now how can you avoid being hated

0:36:24.750,0:36:26.814
if terrible things have to be done?

0:36:26.814,0:36:29.853
Well one of Machiavelli's[br]pieces of advice is to say

0:36:29.853,0:36:32.757
you must appoint a deputy[br]and you must get him

0:36:32.757,0:36:34.507
to do the dirty work.

0:36:35.791,0:36:37.114
- [Alan] To make his point,

0:36:37.114,0:36:40.856
Machiavelli tells a story[br]about Cesare Borgia.

0:36:40.856,0:36:44.168
We think of Borgia as a[br]blood-thirsty monster.

0:36:44.168,0:36:46.668
To Machiavelli, he was a hero.

0:36:48.250,0:36:52.592
The story begins in Cesena in[br]the Romagna district of Italy.

0:36:52.592,0:36:54.904
Borgia wants to take over the area

0:36:54.904,0:36:58.518
so he sends in his minister Romero d'Orco,

0:36:58.518,0:37:01.268
a man with a ruthless reputation.

0:37:02.924,0:37:05.601
- Borgia sends him in[br]to Romagna to pacify it.

0:37:05.601,0:37:07.913
He does so by means of unspeakable cruelty

0:37:07.913,0:37:10.746
and there is a threat of a rising.

0:37:13.016,0:37:14.974
- Borgia was aware that d'Orco had created

0:37:14.974,0:37:16.342
hatred among the people

0:37:16.342,0:37:18.284
and in order to win them over,

0:37:18.284,0:37:19.956
he decided to make it clear that

0:37:19.956,0:37:21.338
if there had been any cruelty

0:37:21.338,0:37:24.745
it had been triggered[br]by d'Orco and not him.

0:37:24.745,0:37:25.970
- And so what happens is,

0:37:25.970,0:37:29.011
Machiavelli says, in wonderfully[br]level piece of prose,

0:37:29.011,0:37:33.468
he says that one morning[br]Romero d'Orco was found

0:37:33.468,0:37:36.635
in the square of Cesena in two pieces.

0:37:37.632,0:37:40.465
(dramatic music)

0:37:41.819,0:37:43.945
- He had d'Orco placed in two pieces

0:37:43.945,0:37:48.706
with a block of wood and[br]blood-stained knife by his side.

0:37:48.706,0:37:50.710
This terrible spectacle left the people

0:37:50.710,0:37:53.127
both satisfied and stupefied.

0:37:56.527,0:37:59.974
- I mean, they thought, wow,[br]well he can do anything.

0:37:59.974,0:38:02.231
The hated figure was gone,

0:38:02.231,0:38:04.701
Borgia was in no way to blame.

0:38:04.701,0:38:08.868
So always put a second in[br]command to do your dirty work.

0:38:12.558,0:38:15.664
- Putting that dismembered[br]body on a block, what is that?

0:38:15.664,0:38:18.505
It's not only just saying[br]that I executed that man,

0:38:18.505,0:38:21.820
but it's almost like a ritual[br]murder, almost mafia-like.

0:38:21.820,0:38:26.277
And it's there to inspire awe[br]and respect and admiration

0:38:26.277,0:38:28.083
for the man who did it.

0:38:28.083,0:38:30.856
To see a leader who's not only killed him,

0:38:30.856,0:38:33.281
but put him there so everyone[br]could see as a lesson.

0:38:33.281,0:38:37.364
My God, it has a triple[br]effect on public opinion.

0:38:41.281,0:38:42.896
Political leaders have been using

0:38:42.896,0:38:45.472
this strategy for centuries

0:38:45.472,0:38:47.011
without the blood.

0:38:47.011,0:38:51.777
So FDR had his henchmen,[br]Clinton had his henchmen.

0:38:51.777,0:38:53.743
Tony Blair had it,

0:38:53.743,0:38:56.216
Cameron has Osborne.

0:38:56.216,0:38:57.811
On and on and on and on.

0:38:57.811,0:38:59.754
You've got somebody there[br]to do the dirty work,

0:38:59.754,0:39:01.713
and then you can distance[br]yourself from them.

0:39:01.713,0:39:05.047
So the sort of violent example is actually

0:39:05.047,0:39:08.630
something that goes on[br]every day around us.

0:39:09.823,0:39:13.947
- [Alan] Maybe that's why The[br]Prince feels so contemporary.

0:39:13.947,0:39:16.061
The rules of power, it seems,

0:39:16.061,0:39:20.321
are just as applicable today[br]as they were 500 years ago.

0:39:20.321,0:39:22.446
Originally a manual for the Medici,

0:39:22.446,0:39:24.092
The Prince could just as easily

0:39:24.092,0:39:27.078
be a modern self-help book.

0:39:27.078,0:39:28.999
- We tend to think of power only in terms

0:39:28.999,0:39:31.159
of politics or business,

0:39:31.159,0:39:33.487
but really there's the power to control

0:39:33.487,0:39:35.620
your destiny, your life,

0:39:35.620,0:39:37.542
how you are in your office.

0:39:37.542,0:39:40.339
If you have no control over your career,

0:39:40.339,0:39:42.569
if you have no influence[br]over your colleagues

0:39:42.569,0:39:44.046
or peers or your boss,

0:39:44.046,0:39:46.651
it's the most miserable[br]feeling in the world.

0:39:46.651,0:39:50.162
And nobody wants that[br]kind of position in life.

0:39:50.162,0:39:53.741
So everybody is scrambling[br]to get more power,

0:39:53.741,0:39:57.408
more control, over their[br]individual destiny.

0:39:59.000,0:40:02.333
- I taught college once at a tiny little

0:40:04.302,0:40:07.591
Catholic girls' college in Dubuque, Iowa.

0:40:07.591,0:40:08.424
And...

0:40:10.554,0:40:13.320
The power struggles on an academic level

0:40:13.320,0:40:15.030
at this little thing were as vicious

0:40:15.030,0:40:17.250
as anything in medieval Florence of

0:40:17.250,0:40:19.889
who will get to be department chairman

0:40:19.889,0:40:22.675
and wield that vast power.

0:40:22.675,0:40:26.489
It's all in the context of what you're in.

0:40:26.489,0:40:29.537
- It's sort of like once[br]you enter the boxing ring,

0:40:29.537,0:40:32.323
you have to fight, you can't[br]sit there and just lie down.

0:40:32.323,0:40:33.715
You're gonna get beaten up.

0:40:33.715,0:40:35.911
So once you're there, you[br]have to figure out a strategy.

0:40:35.911,0:40:37.217
If you don't want to get hit,

0:40:37.217,0:40:40.054
you have to at least figure[br]out how to avoid getting hit.

0:40:40.054,0:40:42.471
So there's no way to opt out.

0:40:44.079,0:40:46.113
But a lot of people are[br]uncomfortable with it

0:40:46.113,0:40:49.388
and they play a kind of[br]a negative game of power.

0:40:49.388,0:40:52.830
They say that they find[br]power ugly and disgusting

0:40:52.830,0:40:56.497
and power people are[br]antisocial, et cetera.

0:40:57.593,0:40:59.934
The ones that say they're[br]not interested in power

0:40:59.934,0:41:02.851
are often the most dangerous types.

0:41:04.384,0:41:06.483
I would say that The[br]Prince is more relevant now

0:41:06.483,0:41:08.240
than it almost ever has been.

0:41:08.240,0:41:09.955
And that he was ahead of his time,

0:41:09.955,0:41:11.922
he was 500 years ahead of his time.

0:41:11.922,0:41:14.682
And that this book is absolutely

0:41:14.682,0:41:17.193
the perfect template for how to survive

0:41:17.193,0:41:20.610
and thrive in the world that's coming up.

0:41:22.807,0:41:26.045
(explosion booming)

0:41:26.045,0:41:28.199
- [Alan] Using The Prince[br]as a guide to warfare

0:41:28.199,0:41:30.341
may sound a bit extreme,

0:41:30.341,0:41:33.006
but that's exactly what[br]Colonel Tim Collins

0:41:33.006,0:41:35.825
did when he was in Iraq.

0:41:35.825,0:41:37.908
Collins is famous for the rousing speech

0:41:37.908,0:41:40.068
he made on the eve of battle,

0:41:40.068,0:41:44.943
later recreated in a short[br]film starring Kenneth Branagh.

0:41:44.943,0:41:46.684
- Now there are some who[br]are alive at this moment

0:41:46.684,0:41:49.263
who will not be alive shortly.

0:41:49.263,0:41:51.998
Those of them who do not[br]wish to go on that journey,

0:41:51.998,0:41:53.694
we will not send them.

0:41:53.694,0:41:54.723
As for the others...

0:41:54.723,0:41:57.579
- [Alan] What is less known[br]is that, while he was in Iraq,

0:41:57.579,0:42:02.488
Collins kept a copy of The[br]Prince with him at all times.

0:42:02.488,0:42:04.153
- In Iraq, I kept dipping into it.

0:42:04.153,0:42:05.773
I carried it around in my map pocket

0:42:05.773,0:42:09.498
and I would take it out and read it.

0:42:09.498,0:42:11.524
I would study to find out what it was

0:42:11.524,0:42:13.060
he was specifically saying about

0:42:13.060,0:42:14.896
what will cause populations to hate you.

0:42:14.896,0:42:16.707
Because here's the headline news,

0:42:16.707,0:42:19.121
what would have got[br]you hated 500 years ago

0:42:19.121,0:42:21.073
is what's gonna get you hated today.

0:42:21.073,0:42:24.494
So it's worth studying it[br]to what it is he's saying.

0:42:24.494,0:42:27.306
This is the book I had with me in Iraq.

0:42:27.306,0:42:29.630
And it's pretty fragile now because

0:42:29.630,0:42:31.721
it literally has been through the wars.

0:42:31.721,0:42:34.445
And the sand still falls out of it.

0:42:34.445,0:42:35.666
If you read Machiavelli,

0:42:35.666,0:42:37.013
you realize at the end of the day

0:42:37.013,0:42:38.723
what you've got to do is the right thing.

0:42:38.723,0:42:40.190
So, if you are in an occupied village,

0:42:40.190,0:42:42.149
we could organize a football match

0:42:42.149,0:42:43.895
and give out bars of soap.

0:42:43.895,0:42:45.445
Or we could have a curfew and tell you,

0:42:45.445,0:42:48.639
the first person I catch[br]with a weapon is a dead man,

0:42:48.639,0:42:50.919
and I want all weapons handed in tomorrow.

0:42:50.919,0:42:53.473
And after that, anybody[br]caught with one is a dead man.

0:42:53.473,0:42:55.058
And then get all the weapons handed in.

0:42:55.058,0:42:56.582
And once all the weapons[br]are out of the way

0:42:56.582,0:42:58.297
and they fear your very shadow,

0:42:58.297,0:43:00.936
then we can have a football match.

0:43:00.936,0:43:03.313
- [Alan] And do you think, as a manual,

0:43:03.313,0:43:05.115
that this had lessons for you?

0:43:05.115,0:43:06.123
- Absolutely.

0:43:06.123,0:43:07.803
I mean, he is spot on throughout.

0:43:07.803,0:43:09.974
I think that all he's[br]saying ultimately is,

0:43:09.974,0:43:12.517
for good or for ill, this is what works.

0:43:12.517,0:43:16.590
So, on that basis, I[br]think he's the good guy.

0:43:16.590,0:43:18.890
What he described was what he saw.

0:43:18.890,0:43:20.126
And he did it so accurately

0:43:20.126,0:43:23.322
that here we are centuries[br]later still reading it

0:43:23.322,0:43:27.072
and still observing it[br]in our everyday lives.

0:43:28.683,0:43:30.219
- Chapter Three.

0:43:30.219,0:43:32.317
"It should be observed[br]here that men should

0:43:32.317,0:43:34.841
"either be caressed or crushed

0:43:34.841,0:43:37.035
"because they can avenge slight injuries

0:43:37.035,0:43:40.118
"but not those that are very severe."

0:43:41.109,0:43:43.146
- What Machiavelli would say is that,

0:43:43.146,0:43:44.717
if you decide to do something,

0:43:44.717,0:43:46.084
you go through with it to the end.

0:43:46.084,0:43:48.365
And that means not to spatter your enemy,

0:43:48.365,0:43:50.546
to crush your enemy.

0:43:50.546,0:43:51.955
Cause him to cease to exist.

0:43:51.955,0:43:54.018
That way you're certain there can be no

0:43:54.018,0:43:56.601
comeback on you or your people.

0:43:58.503,0:44:00.268
- The crush-your-enemy dynamic

0:44:00.268,0:44:01.838
is something that Machiavelli

0:44:01.838,0:44:03.412
discovered as a law of power.

0:44:03.412,0:44:04.528
And it's timeless.

0:44:04.528,0:44:08.378
And it exists in warfare and[br]it totally exists in business.

0:44:08.378,0:44:10.038
The classic example was the war

0:44:10.038,0:44:13.698
between Microsoft and[br]Netscape in the 1990s,

0:44:13.698,0:44:16.228
in which Netscape was one[br]of the hottest things around

0:44:16.228,0:44:19.914
and Microsoft completely crushed Netscape.

0:44:19.914,0:44:21.831
It doesn't exist anymore.

0:44:21.831,0:44:25.440
- Internet wars, Microsoft vs. Netscape,

0:44:25.440,0:44:27.357
Goliath takes on David.

0:44:28.934,0:44:30.510
- [Robert] You find the[br]same thing with Google.

0:44:30.510,0:44:32.571
Every time there is a possible competitor,

0:44:32.571,0:44:34.181
they go out and buy them out.

0:44:34.181,0:44:36.083
Like YouTube, etc.

0:44:36.083,0:44:37.938
- [Alan] Google buys YouTube.

0:44:37.938,0:44:39.687
- [Robert] You look at it with Amazon.

0:44:39.687,0:44:40.924
On and on down the line,

0:44:40.924,0:44:43.885
it's the dynamic in business[br]where you need to consume

0:44:43.885,0:44:46.552
the various rivals in your path.

0:44:47.392,0:44:49.693
- "It can be said of men[br]that they are ungrateful,

0:44:49.693,0:44:51.712
"fickle liars and deceivers.

0:44:51.712,0:44:55.753
"They shun danger and[br]are greedy for profit."

0:44:55.753,0:44:58.998
- [Alan] I keep coming back to[br]these lines from The Prince.

0:44:58.998,0:45:01.062
Is this what people are really like?

0:45:01.062,0:45:05.229
Are we all ungrateful,[br]fickle liars and deceivers?

0:45:06.673,0:45:09.952
The Machiavelli Test is[br]an attempt to answer that.

0:45:09.952,0:45:13.430
It was developed by[br]psychologists in the 1960s.

0:45:13.430,0:45:17.444
20 questions tap into our[br]Machiavellian instincts.

0:45:17.444,0:45:19.408
You end up with a score[br]that tells you whether

0:45:19.408,0:45:22.755
you're a high Mac or a low Mac.

0:45:22.755,0:45:25.838
Now this is something I can't resist.

0:45:26.836,0:45:29.416
- Alan, in this test[br]there are 20 statements.

0:45:29.416,0:45:31.061
I want you to indicate the extent to which

0:45:31.061,0:45:33.613
you agree or disagree with each statement.

0:45:33.613,0:45:36.507
I want you to answer as[br]truthfully as you can.

0:45:36.507,0:45:39.546
Answer one if you strongly[br]disagree with the statement,

0:45:39.546,0:45:41.118
two if you disagree,

0:45:41.118,0:45:43.046
three if you are neutral,

0:45:43.046,0:45:44.525
four if you agree,

0:45:44.525,0:45:46.538
and five if you strongly agree.

0:45:46.538,0:45:47.371
Okay?

0:45:48.350,0:45:49.627
Number one.

0:45:49.627,0:45:52.318
Never tell anyone the real[br]reason you did something

0:45:52.318,0:45:54.735
unless it is useful to do so.

0:45:56.045,0:45:57.550
- Two.

0:45:57.550,0:45:59.437
- The best way to handle[br]people is to tell them

0:45:59.437,0:46:01.354
what they want to hear.

0:46:04.384,0:46:05.217
- Three.

0:46:06.584,0:46:11.156
- It is hard to get ahead[br]without cutting corners.

0:46:11.156,0:46:11.989
- Four.

0:46:13.009,0:46:16.996
- It is wise to flatter important people.

0:46:16.996,0:46:17.829
- Four.

0:46:19.445,0:46:23.200
Since its conception, there've[br]been around 1,400 studies

0:46:23.200,0:46:25.699
that have used the Machiavelli Test.

0:46:25.699,0:46:28.347
So what do the results tell us?

0:46:28.347,0:46:29.727
- One of the most consistent findings

0:46:29.727,0:46:31.307
to come out of our studies

0:46:31.307,0:46:33.093
is that men are more[br]Machiavellian than women.

0:46:33.093,0:46:34.239
Not by a great deal,

0:46:34.239,0:46:35.565
but they come out consistently more

0:46:35.565,0:46:37.107
Machiavellian than women.

0:46:37.107,0:46:40.111
Machiavellianism tends[br]to peak in adolescence.

0:46:40.111,0:46:42.679
And another interesting finding[br]to come from the studies

0:46:42.679,0:46:44.269
is that it doesn't matter what

0:46:44.269,0:46:45.970
your political orientation is.

0:46:45.970,0:46:47.625
That is, right wingers and left wingers

0:46:47.625,0:46:49.985
don't differ in Machiavellianism.

0:46:49.985,0:46:51.787
You might tend to think[br]that perhaps right wingers

0:46:51.787,0:46:53.500
are perhaps a little[br]bit more Machiavellian.

0:46:53.500,0:46:54.500
They're not.

0:46:55.982,0:46:57.672
- So how did I do?

0:46:57.672,0:46:59.580
- Well, Alan, I suppose it's good news.

0:46:59.580,0:47:03.855
You came out with a mean score[br]of 2.95 on these questions.

0:47:03.855,0:47:06.277
Which means that you're neutral.

0:47:06.277,0:47:07.938
Or just tending to disagree

0:47:07.938,0:47:10.012
with the Machiavellian questions.

0:47:10.012,0:47:11.632
That makes you somewhat less Machiavellian

0:47:11.632,0:47:13.632
than the average person.

0:47:14.558,0:47:17.005
- But if I were truly Machiavellian,

0:47:17.005,0:47:20.009
I would probably be lying, wouldn't I?

0:47:20.009,0:47:21.609
- [Man] You probably would in this setting

0:47:21.609,0:47:23.602
because you're filming a documentary

0:47:23.602,0:47:25.934
and your responses are[br]going out to the nation.

0:47:25.934,0:47:28.607
But if you were an anonymous research...

0:47:28.607,0:47:31.631
- [Alan] I'm still not sure[br]what to make of Machiavelli.

0:47:31.631,0:47:35.767
Is The Prince a manual for[br]tyrants, devoid of all morality,

0:47:35.767,0:47:38.998
or is it a realistic guide to life?

0:47:38.998,0:47:42.594
Is Machiavelli a goodie or a baddie?

0:47:42.594,0:47:45.491
- It seems to me that he holds[br]a place as a cultural icon.

0:47:45.491,0:47:46.935
He's a baddie.

0:47:46.935,0:47:48.565
Whereas actually the book is about

0:47:48.565,0:47:52.594
the exposure of the nature[br]of badness and goodness.

0:47:52.594,0:47:55.702
It says, we need to think[br]of morality as a toolkit.

0:47:55.702,0:47:59.869
Vices and virtues are artifacts[br]we've invented to survive.

0:48:01.084,0:48:04.260
- [Alan] Is it a sort of[br]realistic view of human nature,

0:48:04.260,0:48:05.444
and not just of human nature,

0:48:05.444,0:48:07.664
but the journey that we all have to make?

0:48:07.664,0:48:08.883
- Well, yes, it could be.

0:48:08.883,0:48:12.215
But it could be a realistic[br]view of human nature

0:48:12.215,0:48:16.354
after you've lost belief[br]in love and kindness.

0:48:16.354,0:48:17.616
But you could put it the[br]other way round and think

0:48:17.616,0:48:19.775
that what's being said is,

0:48:19.775,0:48:24.130
if virtue isn't necessarily[br]rewarded, why be virtuous?

0:48:24.130,0:48:25.572
Which is a good question.

0:48:25.572,0:48:26.803
And the answer would be something like,

0:48:26.803,0:48:29.509
well, virtue is good in and of itself.

0:48:29.509,0:48:31.305
It's better to be kind than to be cruel.

0:48:31.305,0:48:33.251
Not because you'll do better in life,

0:48:33.251,0:48:36.083
but because it's better to[br]be kind than to be cruel.

0:48:36.083,0:48:38.747
- I'm keen on the thought that[br]Machiavelli is a moralist,

0:48:38.747,0:48:41.049
he's just not a kind of[br]moralist whom I admire.

0:48:41.049,0:48:43.390
He is someone who thinks that[br]the quality of your actions

0:48:43.390,0:48:46.186
is to be judged in terms[br]of their consequences.

0:48:46.186,0:48:50.068
That allows him this great[br]leeway for saying, well,

0:48:50.068,0:48:52.168
it's necessary for the goal,

0:48:52.168,0:48:54.110
which is a good one, for you to do evil.

0:48:54.110,0:48:57.314
And don't worry about the fact[br]that you have done something

0:48:57.314,0:49:00.962
which is unjust if you are[br]certain that if you didn't do it

0:49:00.962,0:49:02.896
it would have affected the security

0:49:02.896,0:49:04.583
and the well-being of the state.

0:49:04.583,0:49:06.646
Because your job is to maintain that.

0:49:06.646,0:49:08.736
And the point is, you've got to maintain

0:49:08.736,0:49:10.452
that whatever happens.

0:49:10.452,0:49:12.883
That's the horrible[br]thing about Machiavelli.

0:49:12.883,0:49:13.920
I mean, let's be clear.

0:49:13.920,0:49:15.823
This is, I think, a horrible book.

0:49:15.823,0:49:18.011
I mean it's a horrible[br]book because it says,

0:49:18.011,0:49:19.545
don't worry about the virtues,

0:49:19.545,0:49:21.371
just worry about consequences.

0:49:21.371,0:49:23.123
Your job is to keep people secure.

0:49:23.123,0:49:24.602
Do whatever is necessary.

0:49:24.602,0:49:26.316
Well, if you think about[br]the implications of that,

0:49:26.316,0:49:28.235
they're pretty appalling.

0:49:28.235,0:49:30.129
- I also think there's a despair in this.

0:49:30.129,0:49:32.950
Because the fundamental despair[br]in it is the assumption that

0:49:32.950,0:49:35.192
people don't want to[br]collaborate with each other.

0:49:35.192,0:49:38.473
That people don't want[br]to look after each other.

0:49:38.473,0:49:40.493
You can imagine it also as a book written

0:49:40.493,0:49:42.435
in the aftermath of a trauma.

0:49:42.435,0:49:44.192
And in a way, of course, he was in prison.

0:49:44.192,0:49:46.624
So there was a trauma.

0:49:46.624,0:49:49.758
You could think Machiavelli[br]is very disillusioned

0:49:49.758,0:49:51.185
about a lot of things.

0:49:51.185,0:49:54.208
So it's a bit like he's[br]saying, once you lose heart,

0:49:54.208,0:49:57.316
once you lose belief in human[br]goodness and collaboration

0:49:57.316,0:49:58.779
and kindness and love,

0:49:58.779,0:50:00.712
this is what the world[br]is going to look like.

0:50:00.712,0:50:02.549
And more and more of us[br]are gonna have experiences

0:50:02.549,0:50:03.977
in which we feel disillusioned,

0:50:03.977,0:50:06.172
so we need to wise up to this.

0:50:06.172,0:50:07.914
("Made Niggaz" by Tupac Shakur)

0:50:07.914,0:50:09.867
- [Alan] This is Tupac Shakur.

0:50:09.867,0:50:12.601
He'd been huge fan of Machiavelli

0:50:12.601,0:50:15.964
before he was gunned down 1996.

0:50:15.964,0:50:17.512
When was in prison,

0:50:17.512,0:50:19.907
he studied The Prince and when he got out

0:50:19.907,0:50:23.237
he changed his name to Makaveli.

0:50:23.237,0:50:24.796
And made videos like this.

0:50:24.796,0:50:26.981
♫ Makaveli the Don till I'm gone

0:50:26.981,0:50:29.515
- [Alan] More recently, the rapper 50 Cent

0:50:29.515,0:50:31.222
wrote a book with Robert Greene

0:50:31.222,0:50:32.937
called The 50th Law,

0:50:32.937,0:50:35.550
a Machiavellian bible for success

0:50:35.550,0:50:39.217
based on the single[br]principal, fear nothing.

0:50:40.643,0:50:44.492
- There is not a single more[br]Machiavellian environment

0:50:44.492,0:50:46.434
than the music industry on this planet.

0:50:46.434,0:50:50.052
It makes Hollywood look like kindergarten.

0:50:50.052,0:50:51.653
It is ruthless.

0:50:51.653,0:50:54.253
It's Game of Thrones times five.

0:50:54.253,0:50:57.600
And so someone like 50,[br]he said it helped him.

0:50:57.600,0:51:01.767
It helped him negotiate this[br]shark-infested environment.

0:51:02.625,0:51:04.489
Power is a neutral term.

0:51:04.489,0:51:07.763
It can be used for bad and[br]it can be used for good.

0:51:07.763,0:51:09.263
It's like a tool.

0:51:19.955,0:51:22.467
- [Alan] Apart from Tupac and 50 Cent,

0:51:22.467,0:51:25.906
who else these days[br]measures up to Machiavelli?

0:51:25.906,0:51:28.656
Who would Machiavelli approve of?

0:51:29.526,0:51:31.558
- Well, a lot of what Machiavelli is about

0:51:31.558,0:51:32.869
is about being strategic,

0:51:32.869,0:51:36.458
about trying to think[br]in a longer term frame.

0:51:36.458,0:51:38.061
So if you think about[br]someone like Alex Ferguson

0:51:38.061,0:51:38.985
of Manchester United,

0:51:38.985,0:51:40.752
he was clearly as strategic manager.

0:51:40.752,0:51:42.285
He wasn't trying to think[br]about the next match,

0:51:42.285,0:51:44.123
he was thinking on a[br]much longer time frame.

0:51:44.123,0:51:45.228
I think someone like that would be

0:51:45.228,0:51:47.040
an unconscious Machiavellian.

0:51:47.040,0:51:50.244
- I would say that the most person

0:51:50.244,0:51:52.473
certainly in my lifetime

0:51:52.473,0:51:56.260
that I would resemble to Machiavelli

0:51:56.260,0:51:58.488
would be Margaret Thatcher.

0:51:58.488,0:52:00.701
She certainly wasn't loved by her Cabinet.

0:52:00.701,0:52:03.383
But she was certainly feared.

0:52:03.383,0:52:05.412
- I think if you're looking[br]for a very good example

0:52:05.412,0:52:08.662
of an institution that has applied well

0:52:10.164,0:52:13.711
some of the lessons and the[br]principles in The Prince,

0:52:13.711,0:52:16.435
you'll find them in the Royal Family.

0:52:16.435,0:52:18.343
I mean, there was a period when

0:52:18.343,0:52:20.179
actually the sense of the royal brand,

0:52:20.179,0:52:22.435
if you like, was becoming quite negative.

0:52:22.435,0:52:23.792
Well, they've seen that off.

0:52:23.792,0:52:24.625
Big time.

0:52:24.625,0:52:26.482
And I think they've seen it off, in part,

0:52:26.482,0:52:28.809
by operating some of these

0:52:28.809,0:52:31.966
timeless principles that[br]are set out in The Prince.

0:52:31.966,0:52:34.383
But in very a modern context.

0:52:36.446,0:52:38.665
- [Alan] The Prince may anticipate a world

0:52:38.665,0:52:40.869
five centuries into the future,

0:52:40.869,0:52:44.018
but what happened to the book itself?

0:52:44.018,0:52:46.259
It was published in 1532

0:52:46.259,0:52:49.765
and not surprisingly the Pope banned it.

0:52:49.765,0:52:53.320
- The Papal Index is set up in 1559.

0:52:53.320,0:52:55.417
It's simply an alphabetical list of books

0:52:55.417,0:52:56.569
which you mustn't read.

0:52:56.569,0:52:58.526
They are mostly Lutheran[br]and Calvinist books,

0:52:58.526,0:53:01.323
works of deep heresy according[br]to the Catholic Church.

0:53:01.323,0:53:03.853
But some secular writers are in there,

0:53:03.853,0:53:06.721
and Nicholas Machiavelli is in there

0:53:06.721,0:53:10.888
under the heading "all his[br]works are totally banned."

0:53:14.067,0:53:15.638
- [Alan] But that didn't stop The Prince

0:53:15.638,0:53:17.031
from reaching England

0:53:17.031,0:53:19.191
and cementing Niccolo Machiavelli's

0:53:19.191,0:53:22.358
reputation as Old Nick - the devil.

0:53:23.238,0:53:25.395
- England was the country that really

0:53:25.395,0:53:26.521
played the biggest role

0:53:26.521,0:53:30.179
in spreading this idea[br]that this man was satanic.

0:53:30.179,0:53:32.773
(grunting)

0:53:32.773,0:53:34.827
- [Alan] Shakespeare doesn't exactly help,

0:53:34.827,0:53:36.831
as Machiavelli's name is evoked by

0:53:36.831,0:53:39.182
the scheming Duke of Gloucester,

0:53:39.182,0:53:41.150
the future Richard III.

0:53:41.150,0:53:43.745
- I can add colors to the Chameleon,

0:53:43.745,0:53:46.191
change shapes with Proteus for advantages

0:53:46.191,0:53:50.082
and set the murderous Machiavel to school.

0:53:50.082,0:53:52.780
- [Alan] We may have inherited[br]this idea of Machiavelli

0:53:52.780,0:53:56.727
as the devil, but that's[br]not what the Italians think.

0:53:56.727,0:54:00.184
In Florence, his statue[br]stands outside the Uffizi

0:54:00.184,0:54:03.197
alongside the Italian greats.

0:54:03.197,0:54:06.614
The Prince is even a set text in schools.

0:54:15.333,0:54:17.466
- If you think for[br]instance that it's one of

0:54:17.466,0:54:19.452
the three Italian books

0:54:19.452,0:54:21.367
translated all over the world,

0:54:21.367,0:54:23.849
in almost all language in the world.

0:54:23.849,0:54:26.817
And the other ones are Dante's, of course,

0:54:26.817,0:54:30.292
comedy of Dante, and Pinocchio by Collodi.

0:54:30.292,0:54:33.923
So The Prince, Pinocchio and Dante,

0:54:33.923,0:54:37.058
the three most translated books.

0:54:37.058,0:54:41.000
This is something, don't[br]you know? (laughing)

0:54:41.000,0:54:42.213
- [Alan] And there's another reason

0:54:42.213,0:54:44.120
why Machiavelli is admired.

0:54:44.120,0:54:46.556
Ultimately, he was in favor of republics

0:54:46.556,0:54:49.397
rather than inherited rule.

0:54:49.397,0:54:52.270
- He distinguishes between an[br]old prince and a new prince.

0:54:52.270,0:54:54.993
Old princes are people who[br]have inherited their position.

0:54:54.993,0:54:57.884
But then there's the new prince[br]who rises from the bottom.

0:54:57.884,0:55:00.428
He's completely on the[br]side of the new prince

0:55:00.428,0:55:02.420
because he believes that the new prince

0:55:02.420,0:55:06.668
can only rise to the top[br]with their own energy.

0:55:06.668,0:55:08.351
- Now one of the interesting[br]things about The Prince is

0:55:08.351,0:55:10.352
it's got an irony attached to it.

0:55:10.352,0:55:12.764
It's saying, if you[br]want to hold onto power,

0:55:12.764,0:55:14.540
this is how to behave.

0:55:14.540,0:55:17.075
But we can all read it.

0:55:17.075,0:55:21.815
So it's a book about trickery[br]which exposes the tricks.

0:55:21.815,0:55:25.089
- Here are some different[br]translations of The Prince.

0:55:25.089,0:55:28.746
We really received them from[br]the many visitors coming here.

0:55:28.746,0:55:32.704
We have French, from the Republica Czecha,

0:55:32.704,0:55:34.324
in Norwegian,

0:55:34.324,0:55:36.907
from Oslo, in German,

0:55:36.907,0:55:38.240
Korean, Russian.

0:55:39.761,0:55:42.594
A doctor from Israel sent us this.

0:55:43.540,0:55:44.983
Chinese.

0:55:44.983,0:55:47.612
This we received from Belgrade.

0:55:47.612,0:55:49.029
Polish, Japanese,

0:55:50.026,0:55:51.443
Finnish, Turkish,

0:55:52.532,0:55:54.282
Argentina, Norwegian,

0:55:55.329,0:55:57.162
and English of course.

0:56:00.308,0:56:02.058
And this is his land,

0:56:03.044,0:56:06.371
his vineyards, his olive trees,

0:56:06.371,0:56:07.454
his property.

0:56:09.451,0:56:11.622
- [Alan] Today[br]Machiavelli's house is owned

0:56:11.622,0:56:13.241
by a wine company.

0:56:13.241,0:56:15.967
Across the road, you can order a Chianti

0:56:15.967,0:56:18.605
from Machiavelli's vineyard.

0:56:18.605,0:56:20.665
Here's to The Prince.

0:56:20.665,0:56:21.676
- Okay.

0:56:21.676,0:56:23.212
(glasses clinking)

0:56:23.212,0:56:24.545
Now tell me,

0:56:24.545,0:56:28.367
do many people come here to[br]visit the home of Machiavelli?

0:56:28.367,0:56:31.379
- [Lucia] Yes, from all over the world.

0:56:31.379,0:56:35.268
Many years ago, came Tony Blair also.

0:56:35.268,0:56:36.101
- Really?

0:56:36.101,0:56:37.005
- [Lucia] Really.

0:56:37.005,0:56:38.468
- When did he come here?

0:56:38.468,0:56:40.635
- [Lucia] He came in 1998.

0:56:41.531,0:56:44.206
- [Alan] So just a year[br]after he came to power.

0:56:44.206,0:56:46.366
- [Lucia] Yeah, mmm-hmm.

0:56:46.366,0:56:47.880
- [Alan] Did you take him round the house?

0:56:47.880,0:56:50.746
- Si, we went around, and we gave him,

0:56:50.746,0:56:53.355
of course, a copy of The Prince.

0:56:53.355,0:56:54.228
- Did you really?

0:56:54.228,0:56:55.061
- Yeah.

0:56:55.061,0:56:56.872
- In Italian or English?

0:56:56.872,0:56:57.955
- In Italian.

0:56:58.875,0:57:03.075
- [Alan] But what happened[br]to Machiavelli himself?

0:57:03.075,0:57:05.104
The whole of the point of[br]writing The Prince was to get

0:57:05.104,0:57:08.331
noticed by the most[br]powerful man in Florence.

0:57:08.331,0:57:11.199
But Machiavelli totally failed.

0:57:11.199,0:57:12.423
As far as we know,

0:57:12.423,0:57:15.135
Lorenzo the Magnificent never even read it

0:57:15.135,0:57:18.853
and Machiavelli never got his job back.

0:57:18.853,0:57:21.166
He ended up here on his estate,

0:57:21.166,0:57:24.666
drinking wine and writing books and plays.

0:57:25.695,0:57:28.177
- In many ways, Machiavelli was a failure.

0:57:28.177,0:57:30.460
Because he gave advice that other people

0:57:30.460,0:57:33.262
could never be seen to be taking.

0:57:33.262,0:57:35.249
It may well have been very[br]useful to other people,

0:57:35.249,0:57:36.521
but the last thing they could do,

0:57:36.521,0:57:38.731
according to his own tenets in the book,

0:57:38.731,0:57:42.651
is show that they were taking his advice.

0:57:42.651,0:57:45.312
- [Alan] The biggest[br]irony in this whole story

0:57:45.312,0:57:47.324
is that Machiavelli himself

0:57:47.324,0:57:52.245
didn't appear to be in the[br]least bit Machiavellian.

0:57:52.245,0:57:55.721
In a letter to a friend,[br]Machiavelli once wrote:

0:57:55.721,0:57:58.403
"When evening comes I go back home.

0:57:58.403,0:58:00.187
"I take off my work clothes

0:58:00.187,0:58:03.476
"and put on the clothes of an ambassador.

0:58:03.476,0:58:06.690
"I enter the ancient courts of rulers.

0:58:06.690,0:58:08.947
"I forget every worry.

0:58:08.947,0:58:11.490
"I'm no longer afraid of poverty

0:58:11.490,0:58:13.830
"or frightened of death.

0:58:13.830,0:58:16.413
"I live entirely through them."

0:58:18.620,0:58:22.120
Machiavelli died in 1527 at the age of 58,

0:58:23.096,0:58:27.012
five years before The[br]Prince was published.

0:58:27.012,0:58:30.377
Little did he know that 500 years later

0:58:30.377,0:58:33.639
what he called his "little[br]pamphlet" would remain

0:58:33.639,0:58:37.556
one of the most influential[br]books ever written.

0:58:41.574,0:58:43.638
♫ Makaveli the Don, till I'm gone

0:58:43.638,0:58:45.187
♫ I maintain my army

0:58:45.187,0:58:46.877
♫ Of lunatics that stay armed

0:58:46.877,0:58:47.829
♫ Till the day I die

0:58:47.829,0:58:49.350
- [Woman] Alan.

0:58:49.350,0:58:50.910
Alan.

0:58:50.910,0:58:52.266
What about the BBC?

0:58:52.266,0:58:55.766
Surely that's a Machiavellian institution?

0:58:57.423,0:59:01.472
- You may think that but I[br]couldn't possibly comment.

0:59:01.472,0:59:02.944
♫ My life in exchange for yours

0:59:02.944,0:59:04.337
♫ Born hated as a thug

0:59:04.337,0:59:05.634
♫ House full of babies cryin'

0:59:05.634,0:59:06.897
♫ From a lack of gettin' love

0:59:06.897,0:59:08.321
♫ Ain't nobody tell me shit

0:59:08.321,0:59:09.594
♫ 'Til I got a sack of drugs

0:59:09.594,0:59:10.911
♫ Had the block sewn up

0:59:10.911,0:59:12.002
♫ 'Cause I learned to pack a gun

0:59:12.002,0:59:12.835
♫ Do you feel me