(A)MORAL MACHIAVELLIANISM – ANALYSIS OF THE NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI CONCEPT

Otto von Bismarck once commented that people ought not to watch the making of
sausages or politics, as both activities may result in disgust and lots of doubts for sensitive
observers. The average observer has, on daily basis, excellent opportunities to watch all
sorts of on-going struggles in the political arena. Participants at such events make use of
various methods to convince their viewers that they are, indeed, people that uphold the rule
of law and values that constitute them. Their performance has, at the same time, a second
covert undertone whose content is the fight, devoid of any scruples, for interest groups they
represent. However, the real face remain concealed, while we only see that which they want
to show us. Contemporary politics gives the impression of a continuous power struggle and
its execution, while the techniques and mechanisms being applied are far from ideal. Politics
exercises its own game rules at a level often characterized by activities often referred to by
citizens as pejorative and are morally disapproved although this ethical ennoblement of vice
is common in politics. That, which is literally regarded in typical human relations as
breaking the rules is depicted as a virtue and glorifiable at the level of politics. It has long
been observed that while minor rogues end up in prison, monuments2 are often erected for
grand criminals. The main precursor of efficiency of politics as a core value was Niccolo
Machiavelli. The article is an attempt to analyse his views on politics, identify core concepts
that are often applied in his discussions as well as possibilities of application of his concepts
in contemporary solutions both in politics and beyond.

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