An exploration: Focusing on Power and Politics- an Egotistical Journey J

Let us being with DECEPTION- What exactly is deception and how is it used in our tiny universe? Deception is trickery…  Why does man allow himself to use this? Why do men allow themselves to be fooled?  It all comes down to power and politics...and perhaps a little bit more...

Let us look to a familiar friend....

Niccolo Machiavelli is known for being one of the most infamous political theorists of all time.  Why?  Machiavelli openly suggested that deception is necessary to carry out one’s political agenda.  This was a threat to the society in which he lived; it is still seen as threat to our society. Man is so resistant to the idea of deception, but he uses it to further his agenda.  This is political because it ties into all of the institutions that we allow to shape our culture and our lives.  As people who belong to a certain social order, we are governed by these.   Deception is the ultimate deviant tool, yet what is so interesting is that man time and time again allows himself to be fooled...

  - “…men are so simple and so obedient to present necessities that he who deceives will always find someone who will let himself be deceived (The Prince, 70). 

In Machiavelli’s most famous work, The Prince, he writes a concise guideline for how to attain power and how to keep it.  This book is one of the most notorious pieces of political writings in the history of man…

            “…Nonetheless one sees by experience in our times that the princes who have done great things are those who have taken into account of faith and have known how to get around men’s brains with their astuteness; and in the end they have overcome those who have founded themselves on loyalty. Thus you must know that there are two kinds of combat: one with laws, the other with force.  The first is proper to man, the second to beasts…(The Prince, 70).  Machiavelli continues as he draws analogy between man and beast. The distinction between a lion and a fox is made and how it is necessary to have the force of a lion and the cunning of a fox if you are to rule over others.

According to Machiavelli, being clever is crucial.  A genuine person is not what matters.  Are you able to fulfill your ambition? Your survival and the repression of others is key. The ends justify the means.

Machiavelli then continues about why a prince must, at least, pretend to have these qualities “…it is indeed necessary to appear to have them. Nay, I dare say this, that by having them and always observing them, they are harmful; and by appearing to have them, they are useful, as it is to appear merciful, faithful, humane, honest, and religious…” (The Prince, 70). 

What does this have to do with Homer????