Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction | Quentin Skinner | Talks at Google

Machiavelli taught that political leaders must be prepared to do evil so that good may come of it. In this Talks at Google, Quentin Skinner gives a very short introduction to Machiavelli, focussing on his best-known work "The Prince".
Quentin Skinner is the Barber Beaumont Professor of the Humanities and Co-director of The Centre for the Study of the History of Political Thought at Queen Mary University of London. From 1996 to 2008 he was Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge. He is the author a number of books, including "The Foundations of Modern Political Thought", which The Times Literary Supplement listed as one of the 100 most influential books since World War II.
Get the book here: goo.gle/36XSi0I.

[@georg2740]

I am German and it is one of the best talks in English I have ever heard. The English he speaks is not so complex, but not in a bad way. It's just perfect to understand for nearly everybody but also extremely full of information! Just amazing!

[@colonelbond4056]

Its called RP english mate look it up

[@solaraeducator7671]

They say the best communicators talk simply. Like that. No need for embellishments.

[@LordOfLight]

I never found Machiavelli to be Machiavellian. Amoral perhaps, but clear-minded and quite straightforward.

[@homersamson2635]

Love Skinner's pleasant, thorough and engaging style.

[@antoniorestuccia875]

This a big opportunity for me to hear Skinner talk about Machiavelli. He so is brilliant when he explains that I remain mesmerized.

[@PrinceKoopa]

I’ve watched this several times now and I learn something new every time. Thank you.

[@dasglasperlenspiel10]

Machiavelli is always relevant to human thought, and this is a really wonderful introduction to him: lively, erudite, and intelligent.

[@adastra3147]

As a full blooded Milanese and Italian I'm humbled by you. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and knowledge.

[@mjc11a]

Brilliant presentation! Informative, thought-provoking and educational. Thanks very much for sharing and be safe 🙏

[@hamm0155]

I love Quentin skinner. Great scholar, great writer, great speaker.

[@joeyfotofr]

Elegant lecture. He's the real deal and the audience questions were also excellent. I remember a conference decades ago when we had dinner in the Palazzo Vecchio's Hall of 500, followed by a Klezmer music concert where they wouldn't let us dance for fear that our stomping might harm the Utrillo murals. If I'd known Machiavelli's office was in the building, I would certainly have visited it..jt

[@Doc-SN]

Mesmerising and exquisite presentation . Note the calm and rhythmic nuisance in the speakers voice . The content of the talk, the delivery and conclusion were just first class.

[@camillaalcini358]

Absolutely brilliant, thanks Professor Skinner and Google Talks

[@LeonCouch]

A wonderful and well-spoken summary and presentation of the "The Prince", etc., with good context. When I read this in highschool (for fun -- not an assignment), I found the book to accessible and brief. This is an excellent and wonderful presentation, which clearly has applications to our understandings of the world today and of the past. I was happy to hear the practical and inquisitive response of the audience at Google too: Clearly, the audience wants to apply what they learned to understanding and making the world today better. I'm appreciative of Google for sponsoring these talks and posting them.

[@alexczech8468]

@Dino Sauro lol what are you talking about? what work by him do you believe would be censored or cancelled? Come to think of it, what do you mean by canceled anyway? You can't mean The Price, right? that says that to maintain power you have to be feared not loved, or maybe you meant when he said a ruler should rather be more impetuous and less cautious, oh maybe this comment is going to be censored because I'm repeating what the book says. There is a passage about fortune where Machiavelli basically describes handling fortune with an analogy to rape which is pretty fucked up but dude what world do you live in where you gotta jump on youtube and start telling a bunch of strangers that everything's to PC now and nobody can say anything, and that you're mad that when rich people use the N word or something that they're not aloud to be on facebook for a week so now it's communist china. I really hope you're like a 14 year old little dumbass that doesn't know anything yet cause if you're a grown ass man then buddy you got bigger problems then culture war stuff.

[@alexczech8468]

@Dino Sauro Oh word, my bad, sorry for the typo, and appreciate the correction. Also, I didn't realize you were a researcher AND a manager, I should have spoken so brashly to someone with such esteemed accreditation. Let me try to be a bit more clear so I can help give you some insight into the way reality works. So you being a very smart and very grown up researcher and manager could go ahead and take out that little computer phone you've got, and go to the little type box thing and put some words in there. Try some of the words you've already used to describe what you interpret Mack's writing to mean. The first thing you might notice, is that a whole bunch of management firms and think pieces about leadership in businesses have written a lot about the dude and taken much from it, mainly, how influential his work is because of the lessons it can teach us about success as it applies to business and leadership. "*One of the best and most ready solutions is for the new ruler to reside there. This expedient would make the new position safer and more lasting, as it did for the Turk in the case of Greece*" Or, when you begin to consolidate your power you have to make sure that everyone knows who's in charge. The Ponce (again, thank you I think I got it right that time) is about the structures of power in the world and how best to use that power to maintain it. I donno if you've noticed Mr. Grown Up Dino, but the international conglomerate powerhouse tech company known as Google has quite a bit of power and are probably pretty interested in keeping it that way. And I'd bet that the management and upper management use many of the techniques that 'ol 'Velli was so fond of. You know, Rule by fear and not be love, be ruthless but not a monster, be assertive and not contemptuous blah blah blah you get it. The Mackenator wrote about how the structures of power work due to what he believed is human nature or as he said "the real truth" of the human condition and how to best exploit that. Now personally, I think that although he did seem to tap into some useful strategies for the people in charge to keep being in charge that not only is this not ideal for our modern interconnected liberal style of democracy world but also it's a bit myopic in fact. Just like a bomb building instruction manual written by Ted Kaczynski would absolutely be effective, we must then ask, why are we needing to be building bombs in the first place? They are quite good at contributing to the status quo which powerful people seem to really like for some reason. Mack didn't have much to say on this besides he was a bit of a progressive as in, didn't think a monarchy was so great and he preferred a more representative government, that didn't stop him from writing a book called The Pronce where he praised a guy who ruled with absolute authority, what a grifter am I right? Opinions on whether or not those power structures are even good in the first place are lacking in most of his work and I say all of this so when I tell you that you're full of shit, it will make more sense to you. Google, and all huge cooperation's with the money to do so lobby the government in order to influence lawmakers to better align with the goals of the cooperation. You know this, I know this, but I don't think that because Mack wrote ideas about maintaining ones power and that would involve dismantling rival structures of power is a very good or smart analogy of whatever you think cancel culture is. What sort of logic is that, did Cesare Borgia cancel Ramiro de Lorca by cutting his ass up after Borgia sent him to do his dirty work? Does google cancel smaller software developers by merging and destroying competition by maybe, lets call it 'lobbying infiltration' or something weird like that that no body says. I doubt you would call this an example of cancel culture. BUT what I think is the clearest example of you kinda showing your hand a bit here is the last little sentence there in your comment. "if that world would even be allowed to exist" or whatever you said. BOY have I got some interesting news for you Sir Dino, Lord of Knowledge Accumulation and Manager of Trustworthiness, we do live in that world man, that's the fucking reason why this dudes 500 year old book is still being talked about literally right this second. People in positions of power are, and have been using the techniques and ideas and mindsets and strategies from that book FOREVER. From Washington to Biden, from the Brutus of Britain to Churchill. From Ford to Musk and from Vanderbilt to Zuckerdouche. They all implement and use the ideas from Machiavelli's works to, say it with me, maintain the systems of power of the status quo, good job kids. So for real, sarcasm aside I promise, pretend I wasn't mean to you cause I take back being rude, it wasn't productive, I know not everyone knows all the things I know and you and others know things I don't. So I ask with sincerity what exactly do you mean when you say you feel like "they" would censor mack's work today (besides the rape thing Mack was definitely a huge misogynist, that really wasn't cool and, product of his time or not, it isn't an excuse to not call out shitty behavior or problematic language when it condones really quite frankly pretty disgusting acts, that of course doesn't mean we can't learn from him as long as we acknowledge that his analogy wasn't challenging cultural norms and power structures, and instead seeks through normalization to legitimize rape by using it as a metaphor for how one should treat and understand fortune) Governments use Machiavellian (oh yes, the word invented because Mack's work was so influential in politics that he got his own adjective for describing unscrupulous behavior) ideas all the time and Google is still here. Tell me what you mean by cancel in this context and lets figure it out together my dude.

[@alexczech8468]

@Dino Sauro Dino buddy, again you're showing your hand here, we both know you couldn't have read more then a paragraph or two of what I sent. I'm not even going to be mean about it but how do you expect to engage with a point when you wont be intellectually honesty enough with yourself to even read the argument being made to you? I know you feel like you've tried to explain to me the themes in the book but you wouldn't have even said that if you honestly read what I sent my guy. If you're just that stubborn to get 7 sentences in and go "AHH WHATEVER STUPID" and then just say what you were already going to say regardless of my comment then it's what's the point here? You've accepted that a researcher/manager already knows everything and some asshole isn't just going to come along and give you any insight, no siree. It's whatever bro, some people think its worse to be wrong then to accept the possibility of not being as correct as they thought. Believe it or not, I do actually put in a bit more effort then you think into my opinions. Who knows though, maybe I'm just part of the group that your group told you was dumb and wrong so why waste any effort on "hearing them out" If you actually change your mind and decide to honestly engage with my comment before this one then great. You didn't see it of course, but the olive branch was extended already and I asked you some straight forward questions to get the ball rolling. Or, you can keep hiding behind your "I'm pretending to be a very smart and balanced, thought provoking intellectual, just like my hero jordan peterson" If you're interested, go back and actually read what I said dude, read what I said and see how much of your response was just what I said just repeated back in a shittier way. although you have missed my point by a lot so that sucks. When you don't read the study guide, its hard to know what your studying. Try this, read what I said, and try to steelman my argument to you. Try to think to yourself, what is this person attempting to explain to me? Do I need specific clarification on anything to understand what he's trying to say in a more intuitive way? Who knows, maybe you'll discover something you hadn't thought about.

[@tarukanafalu1203]

Thank you Prof Skinner! This was an amazing lecture on Machiavelli. I wished I had watched this lecture when I was doing my course. Youe talk giving my understansing clearer because Machiaelli The Prince was a difficult book to read. Thank you again Prof. Sikinner

[@NataliaViatkina]

Absolutely amazing lecture and way of explanation of historical personality. And the Scinner himself... Happy to find this lecture on You Tube

[@elainemagson213]

I wish all lecturers had such a lovely voice and such glorious enthusiasm for their subject.

[@ettan2007]

Learned a lot on Machiavelli I did not know. Thank you.

[@S.Lander]

Like walking into a well-lighted room! Short, sweet, and clear, and...edifying.

[@JoaquinArguelles]

This is outstanding. Thank you sir.

[@erickwilberding5786]

Wow. Thank you Quentin Skinner & Google. Amazing talk, great questions.

[@prakashsalunkhe6437]

Totally thoughts provoking infornation pertaining to Machiavelli.Thank you.

[@RIJU9285]

Lots of lessons for Silicon Valley leaders. One of the most engaging Google Talks so far.

[@FloraJoannaK]

Hey, I recognize that book on the desk. It's Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction. I read that back in the day. Great little book, but I'd read the Discourses and the Prince mainly. I'd love to return to Machiavelli sometime, as his important oeuvre extends well beyond just his best known books-- e.g. the Florentine Histories. The Prince is among the most personally influential books I've read. Especially love the call for demarcation between what is done and what ought to be done.

[@golodiassaid4879]

My favorite philosopher of all time

[@TheJapanChannelDcom]

Google is a classic example of Machiavellianism. Projecting of image of "doing good things" while being a ruthless money grabbing company.

[@laaaliiiluuu]

"The wellbeing of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants." (Albert Camus)

[@ronniemartinez1070]

Yet your here Consuming content on KZbin, An Alphabet company 🤔

[@TheJapanChannelDcom]

@@ronniemartinez1070 Trying too hard to be clever there, kid. You and your comment are irrelevant. Run along now.

[@teaganread6835]

Did you listen to the seminar?

[@nolanaug]

Man shut up.

[@markrowland1366]

I have been, since age twelve, involved with people in politics. Uncle, cousins school friend and his prim minister father. Managed election campaigns for premiere. Some twenty all up. It seems that I was right to have studied The Prince, in my early teens. Thanks for the refresher.

[@shounakadhikari3035]

Just fascinating

[@simarjitkaur3411]

Enlightening to hear the words of the author directly....paints v different picture

[@bibibibi9457]

My absolute favourite book *💯👍THE PRINCE👏👏👏👏👏Macchiavelli would applause this magnificent Speaker 💯😍

[@mcjcave18]

Amazing Lecture

[@eliasharrison9782]

Excellent lecture and interesting questions. Thank you!

[@sophiaangelini4368]

MAGNIFICENT. GRAZIE

[@CooperJeanne]

This is so good!

[@aldogjini668]

Brilliant!

[@claudiaxander]

learned so much, cheers , wonderful presentation!

[@ninirema4532]

super dear prof. very smart interesting lecture🌎

[@gaetanomontante5161]

Quentin loves Machiavelli and love Quentin for it. ...it is ironic and interesting how modern culture (in my long lifetime) has so maligned Machiavelli as to present him as the evil "Joker" of all times. As you British say: "Brilliant" presentation.

[@yrebrac]

Wonderful talk

[@nahirss2662]

Excellent!!

[@cristianmicu]

this lecture was so amazing, and so interesting. including the amazing questions from the audience, that i had watery eyes from so much emotions. this is the real reason you tube exists, not for couch potato tv

[@krzysztofkowalczyk4019]

Thank you!

[@jdzentrist8711]

My teachers at university explained to us that Machiavelli's teachings are not really new, but are really retrievals of the ancient teachings about politics. Quentin's (he's so enagaging, I'll call him that) "short introduction", at the outset, floored me however with the explosiveness of Machiavelli: Real leaders, in our time, have to "know everything." That is, they need to know "the times." They need to be present. They need to know the present situation in terms of its KAIROS--Quentin used that term. Aristotle too teaches this, encapsulates it, on behalf of all the ANCIENTS. The key point in his N. Ethics, is PRUDENCE. Prudent action is based upon the foundation of "moral virtue," just as "the Princes's" action is based upon "classic moralism." But great leaders understand, with a kind of sixth sense, what really has to be done in order for the OUTCOME to be beneficial for the people, long term. Thus they need to be not rigid moralists, but, for lack of a better word, prudent-Machiavellian moralists. Now, Machiavelli was an Italian "nationalist," but his "methods" are now available to anyone, anywhere. I suppose he would, in theory, advise "ethnic nationalists," anywhere, to use his teachings on leadership. Except, he would be aware, if he were in our time, how things would look. The crux of his wisdom is to constantly be acutely conscious and alert, as to how things are going to look.

[@caneryildirimcakar7039]

What a representation. Much respected.

[@gordonbryce]

Would you kindly do, if you haven't done so, a similar presentation on Luther? I thought this covered a lot of ground in an insightful way.

[@celiabonilla3240]

Thank you for this brilliant presentation. In 2:42, did he say he writes in Latin as well as in English? Or did he mean Italian? At any rate, I truly appreciate this lecture.

[@PrinceKoopa]

Latin and Italian.

[@OoOo-qb5ec]

Yes, just a little lapsus 😊

[@andersaskjrgensen5468]

20:42 I think this is wrong. It was Erasmus, not Aquinas, who wrote "The Education of a Christian Prince"

[@danielmoreno8276]

amazing!!!

[@micheleinacharles-hazellem1968]

I watched this chat and bought the book

[@BobQuigley]

thanks for clarifying 😉

[@bijayabikramshah5325]

20:06 In politics, you're on the stage, always.

[@rogerbourke5570]

What a superb lecture. I studied at Cambridge in the early 80s and this reminded me strongly of those I attended at the time. Although, I have to say, this was far better than most. Bravo Quentin.

[@drmodestoesq]

As LBJ said...."In politics, timing is all important. Adlai Stevenson had timing....bad timing."

[@andrewkamoha4666]

[Title] *Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction* Total video length 53 min 13 sec

[@adityathakur9569]

Some philosophers are like rummy . Good , kind and lovely divine . But makes you very weak in materialistic world. Other are like him blunt, tough and hard but makes you perfect in living this world

[@fergalcussen]

Read the book years ago. Strange to see a Google talk about it.

[@owlnyc666]

Success is when preparation and fortune , luck meet. 😉

[@ArkAnudDinYaSin]

He is the first speaker I have listened to in modern times to correctly understand and do justice to the great Scholar Niccolo Machiavelli. Niccolo Machiavelli has been done great injustice by the virtue-signalling hypocritical and shallow “pop scholars” and simpleton readers of the ages.

[@shivangkumar5003]

I never have been seen like the this type of mannered style of speech

[@mawalir937]

Masterful. Skinner took Machiavelli out of the world of adjectives and brought him to life. There is more a lot more about Machiavelli if you care to read and listen. Go past the straight, blunt talk and you will find several nuggets of wisdom. Skinner, acknowledged and dealt with the crassness with the skill of a surgeon and brought our attention to what this man was really about.

[@DharmendraRaiMindMap]

Quentin rocks

[@pardop5628]

Machiaveli was genial and incredibly modern philosopher. So often misunderstood. Do yourself a favour, read "Il Principe" 🙂

[@johnsheehan5109]

I wonder if Cicero was thinking of Julius Caesar vs Augustus Caesar when he cited this parable?

[@owlnyc666]

Did Mach comment on Cicero?

[@lucianopavarotti2843]

Great talk though

[@pablomarcelmx]

Palpatine talkin Machiavelli

[@kirkstable]

"my philosophy is for anyone who can see beyond their own nose" .. nice

[@johnheigis83]

From, somewhere in the Old Testament... "... the law of kindness, for which no law is written." Thusly, to live the art of kindness...!...?

[@plekkchand]

I would think Google might find Machiavelli quite congenial.

[@alber7lew1s19]

Did you say he wrote also in English?

[@srmxe417]

Great talk indeed! However saying that animals don't practice justice is quite the proposition..

[@doubledollaBILL]

27:09 there's a new fdr biography with that title

[@christopherc.musulman3168]

I can withdraw at every impediment and show a negative intention by those that oppose my movements/investments.

[@joakimk9394]

By now there is more and more research which seems to imply that many species do exhibit the idea of justice and injustice. Did like the talk though :)

[@christopherc.musulman3168]

Machiavelli is so very smart. Just a real thorn your side.

[@kurtilein3]

This is a puzzle piece in modern fascist and totalitarian theory. The talk does not clarify it, but if you know the landscape around it, it does add information.

[@EarlLedden]

The fox can't protect himself from the wolves; the lion can't protect himself from the snare. Together they can protect each other and thrive.

[@rahulspeaking]

25:00 machiavelli on justoce

[@djsparkyy]

He sounds a bit like baby Stewie all grown up

[@munkhtuvshinmt]

even speaker himself looks so very Machiavellian lmao

[@SurfRepubic]

Mom ccfm kids n CC I

[@SurfRepubic]

Up and then I uh how g a baby boy jto DK end c no jrJ tKok and is nj. sThis has a i I Hi o thanksgiving is I Maxine fun Oh🔜jc🤯🤑 v I’m 👌ivtiyi I

[@rodgerhempfing2921]

So, a shrewd realist.

[@seanburgett4718]

Wrote the "Art of War", cited maybe? Translated?

[@samrapheal1828]

re Chinese General Sun Tzu (500 BC)

[@___Anakin.Skywalker]

Is this man Quentin B.F. Skinner's offspring?

[@Rico-Suave_]

Watched all of it 52:55

[@amezcuaist]

He must be clever because he`s called Quentin .

[@ProjectDreamCatcher]

Well I always wanted to know more about where Machiavellianism came from! Now I know. Thankyou. As you probably know, in psychology there is a personality trait known as the "Dark Triad" - narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy where Mxxxx is manipulating & conniving? - Basically Donald Trump ;-)

[@36cmbr]

I would argue that Machiavelli is more misunderstood than Socrates himself. Reading and writing “The Prince” within a republican state will affect its applicability to all other such states. I challenge Skinner’s conclusion that Mr Machiavelli is, at heart, a republican. The man is driven to attack the state without attacking his essential “self” or personality.

[@peterclark6290]

Luckily there is no 'day of judgement'. When you're dead it matters not what the survivors think. Only the evil is preserved and "the good is Oft Interred with their Bones." _Julius Caesar_ WS. Yet again Atheism comes to the rescue - "The only sin is ignorance, the only Evil is the perpetuation of ignorance." Me, I think. A deep dive into the human genome should leave you with the idea that our design is far more capable, more generous in spirit, and just, than produced in any society infected with religion.

[@Cinepobrefilmfestival]

(don't) be evil

[@richcampus]

20:33 "...if you don't behave, your sins will find you out..." 21:33 "...generosity is better than justice..." ??? 43:06 "...the fool is the person that says, in his heart, that there is no justice..." You just get ice. 🤷‍♂️

[@lucianopavarotti2843]

@2:40 He wrote in English. A noted Anglophile, he also held afternoon teas with scones with whipped cream and crumpets, and played cricket. On his days off, he read PG Wodehouse and went to the Reform Club.

[@JeremyHelm]

Folder of Time ƒ

[@JeremyHelm]

19:55 On the stage of public life, we must always be just

[@JeremyHelm]

43:00 Hobbs - the fool is the figure who says, in his heart, "there is no justice"

[@theresahemminger1587]

Justice. In a science lecture I heard that the sense of fairness is in the amygdala. That makes it *really* hardwired and, I suspect, the source not only of Justice but of the entire moral sense. Small children rebel against unfairness with no higher development of a moral sense. Many animals also do including crows that shun a cheater.

[@josie_posie808]

I am ashamed to have been introduced to this scholar via Google on YT. Guess I’m just a product of the times

[@olzyolzmobile]

At 2:41 something went wrong: Machiavelli hardly wrote in English! =D

[@amritpalsingh3293]

A short introduction of one hour.

[@ChrisBrengel]

13:30 Moses

[@LethalBubbles]

did he seriously just spin that entire talk into a polemic against special interests/minorities in just the last minute

[@ibratnak]

Platonic => another adjective.

[@manamsetty2664]

🤯

[@AndrewBlucher]

As a modern speaker you should know that animals *do* have a sense of justice.

[@garyraab9132]

Andrew Blucher Agree! However it’s only been in the last 30 years that the technology to probe the minds of newborn human mammals for cognitive empirical evidence has emerged ,... very few adults have studied or read findings like The Scientist In The Crib regarding early childhood development, ....not to mention all those that have never picked up a textbook on ethology! The 21st-century has given us an opportunity to get past philosophizing ...and get real. “There is no scientific study more vital to man than the study of his own brain. Our entire view of the universe depends on it.” ― Francis Crick

[@bubbahubba7238]

Yes. Animals do have a sense of justice. It's called "might makes right."

[@AndrewBlucher]

@@bubbahubba7238 Ah, I do like a good troll! :-) But to respond to your underlying point, the research shows that social animals have a sense of justice and equity. Equally, between different species there is predation, a form of might makes right, and even bullying, as seen when a frustrated young elephant went looking for a rhinoceros to beat up. Cheers

[@_suki_]

👌👌