“Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number

who are not good.”

“Where it is an absolute question of the welfare of our country, we must admit of no
consideration of justice or injustice, of mercy or cruelty, of praise or ignominy; but putting all else
aside we must adopt whatever course will save the nation’s existence and liberty.”
In reflecting on the ideas of the various philosophers we have studied, it has become my habit
to question their arguments and play the devil’s advocate. As to why, this is because while their
ideas are revolutionary, brilliant, and eye-opening, often they filled with idealistic sentiments
which I do not see in the society I live in. Impatient or defeatist as I may be accused, I believe
that while these are ideas that humanity must relentlessly strive to turn into reality, they will
always be but a fantasy, applicable only in a utopian society.
On the other hand, Machiavelli is a writer whom I naturally gravitated towards because he
refused to blindly accept the conventional and noble notions mentioned above. He wrote not
about how human nature and politics should be but about how they actually are. He
emphasized practicality and realism. He argues that rulers have three main goals: to gain
power, to retain this power, and to extend power. Furthermore, as the quote above exemplifies,
if one were to achieve these goals, he must be prepared do everything, whether just or unjust,
merciful or cruel, praiseworthy or disgraceful, for if he refuses to do so, others who are willing
are bound to overthrow him.
This idea is alive and well in today’s political arena, observable through the various public
servants and government officials who desperately do everything they can to cling onto political
authority. Some, like Bong Revilla and Manny Pacquiao, use the fame and achievements they
have gained from politically unrelated careers. Others, like the Marcoses, rely on negative
historical revisionism and false statistics. The current administration itself relies on threats, trolls,
fake news, slander, and emotional appeal to damage their political opponents and gain public
sympathy and favor.
In summary, Machiavelli disagrees with the likes of Plato who proposed that only persons who
possessed both intellectual and moral qualities should be entrusted to with the power to rule the
state, and instead argues that true power and true politics are independent from morality and
that even those who claim to be ethical and religious, if they want to win, will have to succumb
to this truth.