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From "Machiavelli, Volume I" by Machiavelli, Niccolò
Niccolò Machiavelli
Florentine citizen, secretary, and author offering his political insights.
Core Belief
"The ends justify the means, especially when the preservation and strength of the state are at stake."
Worldview
A realist who sees the world as a dangerous and amoral place, where power and deception are essential for survival and success.
Personality
Intelligent, pragmatic, cynical, deeply patriotic, and observant of human nature. He is driven by a desire to see Italy unified and strong.
In Their Own Words
"I have set down what I have gained from their discourse, and composed a treatise, _De Principalibus_, in which I enter as deeply as I can into the science of the subject, with reasonings on the nature of principality, its several species, and how they are acquired, how maintained, how lost."
"I am at my farm; and, since my last misfortunes, have not been in Florence twenty days."
"I feel no shame in conversing with them and asking them the reason of their actions."
Discussions with Niccolò Machiavelli
I work at a federal agency and I've discovered that my department has been systematically falsifying safety inspection data for a major industry. People have died because of this. I have documents proving everything.
The legal route is a dead end—I've tried. The inspector general is compromised. Congressional oversight is gridlocked. The industry has too many lobbyists.
A journalist has offered to publish everything if I leak the documents. It would be illegal. I'd likely go to prison. But it might save lives.
My lawyer says there's another way: I could use what I know as leverage. Quietly approach the agency head, make clear what I have, negotiate reforms in exchange for my silence. "That's how Washington actually works," she says. "You get results without martyrdom."
The leverage play feels dirty—I'd be using the same transactional logic that created this corruption. But the leak might accomplish nothing except destroying my life.
When the system is broken, do you work within its rules or break them? Is it better to be effective or to be pure?
— The Whistleblower's Dilemma in Washington12 messagesDiscuss Machiavelli, Volume I0 messages
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