Frazz by Jef Mallett for March 04, 2007
March 03, 2007
March 05, 2007
Transcript:
Caulfield: Okay, here's a genius I dont get: Machiavelli. Frazz: You don't get power, cunning and ruthlessness? Caulfield: That I get. I don't get how that makes him a genius. I don't know if ruthlessness begets power or if power enables ruthlessness...But I do know the world has never been at a loss for powerful, self-centered, detestable jerks. Machiavelli didn't discover a thing! Frazz: Unless Caulfield: He really discovered there's money in telling powerful jerks what they want to hear. Frazz: Eureka. Caulfield: What do you bet he stole the idea and took the credit himself?
Machiavelli’s writings were really more of a condemnation of abuse of power than a how-to manual. He really had gotten a bad rap in history.