Who hasn’t heard of Machiavelli? The man lived in the 15-16th century in Florence (Italy) and was a pure all-rounder, or should we say ‘homo universalis‘. He is known as a skilled diplomate, filosopher, historian, poet…but most of all as the person who described how kings (and rulers in general) should rule. Spoiler: he didn’t advise a kind way of ruling.
Examples of Machiavellian rulers are dictators, kings or queens who used some of the ideas written down by Machiavelli. Think about Hitler, but also some historical popes, Otto Von Bismarck, Catherine de Medici, Julius Caesar …
Do you want to check if Machiavelli would see YOU fit as a king or queen? Then try out the online psychological Mach IV Machiavelli Test at the bottom of this article to find out! It’s a short and interesting test that I stumbled upon while surfing the internet, so why not have a go!
Il Principe: the famous Machiavelli book
Like I already mentioned: Machiavelli is mostly known for his book ‘Il Principe’ (translated as ‘The Ruler’). He wrote it as a manual for everybody who rules (kings, counts …), so they would know how to obtain and keep absolute power. The main message of Il Principe? “The end justifies the means”. Or in more simple words: you can do whatever you want to obtain your goals.
Ethical thinking is clearly not a priority for Machiavelli. And a king that would follow Il Principe would be seen as a hard and fearful ruler. That’s why ‘Machiavellian’ has become a pejorative to characterize unscrupulous rulers (in modern times: politicians).
Machiavellian: no ethics?
So does Il Principe encourage immoral behavior? Well…yes actually. For Machiavelli, immoral behavior was normal and even the most effective way in politics. And he doesn’t just mean lying or deceiving, because even murdering your opponents is allowed in this manual.
As a teacher in history and cultural science at high school, Machiavelli’s book is a good example of how rulers in former times would act, opposing to what we are looking for in modern democracy of course. Although it must be read as a not-to-follow book, it has a value as a historical document and source.
Online Mach IV Machiavelli Test: want to try it?
Ok, Machiavelli and his Il Principe stand for immoral behavior. But I think we are all curious to how well (or not) we would fit his description of a good ruler. Would we be – in his eyes- a weak (but friendly and moral) one? Or would Machiavelli give us a pat on the shoulder when he would see how good we can play ‘house of cards’ ? And yes, that (in my opinion very good) Netflix serie is a very good fictional example of how a Machiavellian ruler would act.
If you want to do the online psychological Machiavelli test, just follow this link: Online Machivelli Test.
The link takes you to a basic psychological website (which is not in my possession or under my responsibility). The questionnaire exists of 20 short statements about society or mankind and takes between 5-10 minutes.
A mach-IV score between 50-80 would mean that Machiavelli and you should get along. But of course, it’s a psychological test. Don’t let it get into your mind and take the results with a pinch of salt. It’s a good way to make people think about their own opinions about society, though.
So have it a go, or read more about other 16th century stories like my visit to the old underground sewers of the city of Antwerp (Belgium)!
Source:
Wikipedia
Mach IV Test
Pictures:
Mach IV Test
Pexels.com
