Machiavelli
How Machiavellian Are You?
answers
score

Statements Agree Undecided Disagree
1. Most people are honest      
2. Most people think first of their pocket-books and later about right and wrong      
3. To get someone to like you, tell that person what he/she wants to hear.      
4. The best way to earn someone's respect is to be kind and honest      
5. The best way to earn someone's loyalty is show him or her your power.      
6. There are no absolute rights and wrongs. "Right" is what works.      
7. A good president reads the polls to find out what people want and makes those things his policies.      
8. Most people are extremely selfish.      
9. A promise is a sacred trust.      
10. Nice guys finish last.      

If your Machiavellian Score Is:
10-23 (Type A)
You are not at all Machiavellian. Some would say you are an idealist and an optimist about human nature. You have strong ideas about right and wrong.
24-36 (Type B)
You are more cautious about trusting human nature and less idealistic than those above. You know that selfishness can sometimes get in the way of lofty ideals.
37-50 (Type C)
You are extremely Machiavellian. Practical to the point of being a hard-headed cynic, not very trusting about human nature, and ready to deal with what is, rather than what ought to be.
Which Type are You?

Niccolo Machiavelli:
Renaissance Political Thinker
One of the most important books of the Renaissance was a small volume called The Prince written by Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527). Machiavelli had been a government worker, close to powerful men, but never a leader himself. In this book he offered advice to princes on how to rule. His political philosophy (ideas on government) was startling. It was different from medieval ideas about the proper duties, obligations and policies of good rulers.
Where did Machiavelli get such ideas? Clearly not from the Bible. Nor did they come from the ancient Greek ( Athenian) philosophers who stressed the well-being of the entire community and the rule of law. His best sources were the rulers he observed--Franciesco Sforza, Lorenzo do Medici, and above all, Cesare Borgia. The biographies of these men reveal them to be powerful, tricky, and often dishonest. Some historians question whether or not Machiavelli was really as amoral (without standards of right and wrong) as he sounds. Perhaps he was actually making fun of men like Borgia and exposing the extremes to which they would go to keep themselves in power. Whatever his purpose the adjective Machiavellian" has come to mean unscrupulous, amoral, tricky, and manipulative.