Machiavellianism

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"Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception."

Niccolò Machiavelli, "The Prince"

Machiavellianism also called (Political) Opportunism or Realism is a type of politics that primarily focuses on acquiring and maintaining political power from a "selfish" standpoint. In a way, Machiavellianism can be said to be an ideology focused entirely on the political concept of praxis.

It is important to note two things: Firstly that Machiavellianism is not as much the strict beliefs of Niccolo Machiavelli, but rather the recognition of the realities Machiavelli studied; and secondly that Machiavellianism can be found in any and all socio-political systems, be it feudal monarchy, democratic republicanism, corporate capitalism, a marxist-leninist one-party state and even anarchism, etc.

History

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli more well known as just Niccolo Machiavelli was a Florentian diplomat as well as a writer and a philosopher.

Foundations

Machiavellians are not consistent ideologically. They seek to achieve a selfish goal and get the necessary power to do it.


After his exile from political life in 1512, Machiavelli took to a life of writing, which led to the publishing of his most famous work, The Prince. The book would become infamous for its recommendations for absolute rulers to be ready to act in unscrupulous ways, such as resorting to fraud and treachery, elimination of political opponents, and the usage of fear as a means of controlling subjects. Machiavelli's view that acquiring a state and maintaining it requires evil means has been noted as the chief theme of the treatise. He has become infamous for this advice, so much so that the adjective Machiavellian would later on describe a type of politics that is "marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith".


While Machiavelli has become widely popular for his work on principalities, his other major work, The Discourses on Livy, focused mainly on republican statecraft, and his recommendations for a well ordered republic. Machiavelli noted how free republics have power structures that are better than principalities. He also notes how advantageous a government by a republic could be as opposed to just a single ruler. However, Machiavelli's more controversial statements on politics can also be found even in his other works.For example, Machiavelli notes that sometimes extraordinary means, such as violence, can be used in re-ordering a corrupt city. In one area, he praises Romulus, who murdered his brother and co-ruler in order to have power by himself to found the city of Rome. In a few passages he sometimes explicitly acts as an advisor of tyrants as well.


Some scholars have even asserted that the goal of his ideal republic does not differ greatly from his principality, as both rely on rather ruthless measures for aggrandizement and empire.


In one passage of The Prince, Machiavelli subverts the advice given by Cicero to avoid duplicity and violence, by saying that the prince should "be the fox to avoid the snares, and a lion to overwhelm the wolves". It would become one of Machiavelli's most notable statements.


Because cruelty and deception play such important roles in his politics, it is not unusual for related issues—such as murder and betrayal—to rear their heads with regularity.


Machiavelli's own concept of virtue, which he calls "virtù", is original and is usually seen by scholars as different from the traditional viewpoints of other political philosophers. Virtú can consist of any quality at the moment that helps a ruler maintain his state, even being ready to engage in necessary evil when it is advantageous.


Due to the treatise's controversial analysis on politics, in 1559, the Catholic Church banned The Prince, putting it on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.


Machiavelli criticized and rejected what he believed to be a perversion of Christian thought as he viewed that they celebrated humility and otherworldly things, and thus it made the Italians of his day "weak and effeminate".[19] While Machiavelli's own religious allegiance has been debated, it is assumed that he had a low regard of contemporary Christianity.

Variants

George F. Kennan Doctrine

WIP

Kissingerism

Henry Kissinger was a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford (1969-1974, 1974-1977). A Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1938 to the US where he was drafted into the US army in 1943. Kissinger was assigned to the military intelligence sector of the 84th Infantry Division and came to see combat in the division as the US-allied forces advanced into Germany, the country he and his family had fled from. Kissinger was eventually reassigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC), where he became a CIC Special Agent assigned to tracking down Gestapo officers and other saboteurs, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star. After his service in the US army in WWII, Kissinger would come to play an important role in shaping US foreign policy during the Cold War.

Henry Kissinger played an important role in ending US involvement in the Vietnam War. Kissinger was very skeptical of US involvement in the war as it seemed near impossible to find an agreement that would suit both the Communists of North Vietnam and the US-backed government of South Vietnam.

When he came into office as National Security Advisor under President Richard Nixon in 1969, Kissinger favored a negotiating strategy under which the US and North Vietnam would sign an armistice and agree to pull their troops out of South Vietnam while the South Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were to agree to a coalition government. However, because of the conflict of interest between Nixon and Kissinger, and the North and South Vietnamese governments, US involvement in the Vietnam War would continue until the mid-1970s. Henry Kissinger along with Vietnamese communist revolutionary Lê Đức Thọ was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1973, for their work in negotiating the ceasefires contained in the Paris Peace Accords on "Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam." However, Thọ rejected the award as he argued that peace had not been achieved, and after the Fall of Saigon Kissinger attempted the return his award as well.

Henry Kissinger is perhaps most known for his contributions to US-China Relations which helped the People's Republic of China's current rise as a superpower. The motive for the diplomatic outreach to communist China had its ground in the Sino-Soviet Split that happened in the 1950s-1960s because of ideological differences between Mao Zedong and Khrushchev. The US government under Nixon sought to exploit this rift between the two largest communist countries to advance its own geopolitical agenda.

Kissinger made two trips to China in July and October 1971 (the first of which was made in secret) to confer with Premier Zhou Enlai, which resulted in the withdrawal of US troops from Taiwan, and the recognition of the PRC on the UN Security Council at expense of the Republic of China's representation at the UN. His trips paved the way for the groundbreaking 1972 summit between Nixon, Zhou, and Mao, as well as the formalization of relations between the two countries, ending over two decades of diplomatic isolation and mutual hostility.

Henry Kissinger has continued to act as a mediator between the US and China to this day. He was one of the few prominent US politicians who opposed imposing sanctions on China in the wake of the Tiananmen Massacre of 1989.

Henry Kissinger is infamous for his support for anti-communist dictatorships to stop the spread of communism. As National Security Advisor under Nixon, he supported Pakistani dictator, General Yahya Khan, in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Kissinger actively participated in the CIA's destabilization and sabotage of Chilean Socialist Party member Salvador Allende's presidential campaign and presidency through various coup attempts, elections interference, and sanctions that would result in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état and General Augusto Pinochet's rise to power.

As Secretary of the State under President Gerald Ford, he supported the Argentine Military dictator Jorge Rafael Videla's Dirty War against left-wing opposition and backed Indonesian dictator and President Suharto's invasion of East Timor and its subsequent genocide. Kissinger was also actively involved in negotiations regarding the Rhodesian Bush War. Kissinger, along with South Africa's Prime Minister B.J. Vorster, pressured Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith to hasten the transition to black majority rule in Rhodesia.

Interestingly, Henry Kissinger unlike most modern-era military interventionists and neocons such as John McCain, Anthony Blinken, Samantha Power, etc have remained on friendly terms with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kissinger went so far as to suggest that Ukraine should give up territory to Russia to end the war. However, he later stated that Ukraine had the right to join NATO.

Zhou Enlai Thought

WIP

Tarcisio de Freitas

Personality

Machiavellianism is very much... Machiavellian in his behavior. Generally very manipulative and self-serving.

He is known for speaking to crowds in masks of whatever ideological rhetoric he is using to get into power. Often times, he wears masks of different ideologies.

How to Draw

Coat of Arms of Machiavellianism

Machiavellianism's design is based on the Machiavelli Coat of Arms.

  1. Draw a ball with eyes.
  2. In Blue Draw a Cross on the ball.
  3. Draw 4 needles pointing at the center of the cross.

And you're done!

Color Name HEX RGB
Blue #0000FF 0, 0, 255
White #FFFFFF 255, 255, 255


Relationships

REALISM GANG

  • Oligarchy - Nobody rules alone.
  • Police Statism - Key of power.
  • Stratocracy - Another key of power, which is actually more important than the previous one.
  • Mediacracy - Good for keeping power.
  • Roman Republicanism - Machiavelli loved you.
  • Bismarckism - It has been a while, my old friend. What a shame Kaiser Wilhelm let his juvenile ambition ruin what you achieved.
  • Kemalism - "If we write doctrine, we freeze and stay where we are."
  • Progressive Conservatism & Radical Centrism - I like how you counteract those annoying ideologues.
  • Dengism - It does not matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice. Such a shame Xi became dogmatically culturally conservative and attracted an even more dogmatic crowd of fans.

Masks

  • Monarchism & Republicanism - Depending on the situation, as long as you work for and benefit me, you'll be fine. But Machiavelli liked the latter more.
  • Populism - A broad-front appeal is a good way to get into power. I don't have to live up to my promises, though.
  • Third Way - Theory should appeal to all sides of the population, for the West you are perfect today.
  • Constitutionalism - "Hi, I'm Saul Goodman. Did you know that you have rights? The constitution says you do. And so do I."
  • State of Nature - Strange guy, who split my ideas to every person. You look like him sometimes.
  • Liberal Socialism - Me, but socialist. Some of you still have cringe ideals, but you are still miles better than most leftists.

Semi-realist frenemies

  • Maoism - I love your way of diplomacy, but your internal policy was pathetic idealism. At least your son fixed your internal policy mistakes. Zhou Enlai was, however, mega-based and created the path for your son to take over China.
  • Stalinism - You were kinda based when you reconciled with the church during World War Two and when you made agreements with capitalist corporations when you were industrializing your country, but your dogmatic policy of collectivization just ruined all of the agriculture. I still prefer Bukharin.
  • Neoconservatism - Some of you (especially Kissinger) were pragmatists, but you have a cringe utopian goal of "world capitalist revolution".
  • Kleptocracy - While I did say a prince should know how to do evil, the premise is "As far as he can, a prince should follow the path of good".
  • Aristocracy - Your problem, my "good" prince, is exactly the opposite of the former one.
  • Putinism - You were way better in the past when you had good relations with the West. Sadly, your ideological dogma and war in Ukraine shattered that. Stop associating with him and our old relationship can be rekindled.
  • Islamic Theocracy - I really like some of you doing taqqiyah and i heard you using as recruitment tactics was indeed based! But you are still filthy dogmatic theocrat!!
  • Hydrarchy - THE DREAMS OF PIRATES... WILL NEVER END! Depends. Sometimes I can hire him to do my dirty work as a privateer, which moralists fear to do. Sometimes he's just a criminal who wants to steal my stuff.
  • Tf2 Soldier - This... is a bucket.
    • Dear God...
    • There's more.
    • No!


ANTI-REALIST FREAKS

  • Satirism - STOP MOCKING ME!
  • Anti-Realism - Psycho who wants to light me on fire.
  • Ochlocracy - "For the mob is always impressed by appearances and by results, and the world is composed of the mob."
  • Ingsoc - The only thing worse than a utopian mentality is a dystopian one.
  • Anarcho-Egoism - We have a lot in common actually. Morality and dogma do more harm than good, but citizens of the state are not required to reject it, only the leadership.
  • Italian Left Communism - This is pure dogma and no praxis at all.
  • Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, Maoism–Third Worldism & Pol Potism - Maoism has just lost all redeeming qualities and jumped into the pit of pure idealism.
  • Hoxhaism - Another dogmatic ML who called anyone even slightly to the right of him a 'revisionist'.
  • Trotskyism - Permanent Worldwide Revolution sounds like a dogmatic nightmare that luckily won't ever come true.
  • Theocrats - You don't know how to adapt with the times.
  • State Atheism - You too buddy. You're literally just trying to fight dogma with dogma.
  • Anarcho-Nihilism - While you understand that idealism should not be relied on, you chose to be a lazy doomer instead of a schemer like me.
  • Neoluddism - Why won't you work for me? I can help with your extreme environmental concerns by dealing with industrialists to eventually curb all harm to animals and to the environment. But no! You keep using your dogma to kill others just because they support development! You should be ashamed of yourself!
  • Soulism - Quit your weed-induced ideology of pure idealism and come back to reality for once.
  • Chamberlainism - I repeat what I have already said, namely that you should never let yourself be driven off-course by your desire to avoid a war because in such a case you won’t avoid it but will merely postpone it to your disadvantage.
  • Kakistocracy - Either a useful idiot or an obstacle to proper governance.
  • Arsonism - One shudders to imagine what inhuman thoughts lie behind that mask. What dreams of chronic and sustained cruelty?

Further Information

Literature

Wikipedia

Videos

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Notes

  1. ↑ He said that Trump helped Ukraine more than Obama and advocates for conservative America.

Citations

  1. ↑ https://jacobin.com/2021/12/democracy-populism-oligarchy-republicanism-left-right
  2. ↑ Henry Kissinger supported detente with the USSR, China, Vietnam, Romania, and Yugoslavia to turn them away from communism, reduce anti-American sentiment, and restore capitalism in said nations
  3. ↑ In fact, Vlasov had nothing to do with the White Movement, since in the civil war in Russia he fought on the side of the Bolsheviks.
  4. ↑ The Prince, the Discourses on Livy (composed c. 1517) has been said to have paved the way of modern republicanism. It has also significantly influenced authors who have attempted to revive classical republicanism.
  5. ↑ Bo Xilai denounced his own father during the Cultural Revolution as a red guard. Decades later he took a leading role in the persecution of Falun Gong to secure support from Jiang Zemin. While pretending to be a "Maoist" to get attention from leftists he was in fact very supportive of international corporations investing in China making Chongqing a major finance center during his tenure as Party Secretary of the city. He also openly praised Henry Kissinger who considered him the future of China.
  6. ↑ Hun Sen initially fought for the Khmer Rouge but defected to the Vietnamese when it became convenient. Now he's an authcap and Cambodia has been called a "country for sale" for selling out to international corporations
  7. ↑ Putin initially attempted good relations and cooperation with NATO and EU and sided with the US during the War on Terror. He also praises Solzhenitsyn, the White Movement, and Stalin while denouncing Lenin and the Russian Revolution to get support from both the left and right at the same time.
  8. ↑ MBS is de-radicalizing Saudi Arabia and has ended funding for wahhabist organizations abroad and tries to balance relations with the US, Russia, China, and Israel. He has recently attempted to make peace with both Syria and Iran.

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