Hail to the Prince

Hail to the Prince Edna Spennato 2010.

Photomontage made on 4 March 2010

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Also published at Palestine Think Tank, Sabbah Report, Tlaxcala, DesertPeace, Palestine News, Vox, Blog from Middle East,

Hail to the Prince: Obama, the Paradigmatic Machiavellian Leader
by Mary Rizzo

A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.

Nicolò Machiavelli

Obama, before he actually “did” anything, had a reputation. And, indeed, reputation – what others think you are, and not what you actually are – is a crucial factor in a public figure…
The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.

Nicolò Machiavelli
And the beauty of his thesis is in its simplicity and the ease of its being verified. His idea was that in public life only the praise and blame of fellow human beings is what really counts. Thus, Machiavelli supposed, the ruler needs to acquire a good reputation while actually doing whatever seems necessary in the circumstances, no matter how “right or wrong” it could appear or actually be. Thus, rulers must seem to be generous while spending their money to consolidate their own wealth and power, appear to be compassionate while ruling their armies cruelly, and act with great cunning while cultivating a reputation for integrity. In essence, the ace ruler, cream of the crop, has to be considered as a worthy recipient of peace prizes while at the same time he is sending more troops to wage war in faraway lands. People will see the parts of it they want to see, and all of it is real.

In his writing, a true “Prince/President” has to appear “compassionate, faithful, humane, religious” without actually being any of these things….

Read in full here.