... are the essential skills required by any ruler to establish a safe and thriving state based on one absolute leader. Niccolò Machiavelli has a despairing outlook on humans in society. Common man is described as being a simple-minded deceitful creature, wicked, selfish, and bent on wanting money and glory. "While they work for your benefit they are completely yours, offering you their blood, their property, their lives... when the need to do so is far away...when it draws nearer to you they turn away."(Machiavelli. 58) They are content and happy so as long as they are not victims of something terrible. They may be trustworthy in prosperous times, but they will quickly turn selfish, deceitful, and profit-driven in times of chaos and misery. Humans have no sense of loyalty and are only good useful creatures while under duress. Under these circumstances of duress, they can be manipulated and led to ...

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