When Do the Ends Justify the Means: A Conversation About Machiavelli

Dr. John T. Scott 
Faculty, Department of Political Science, UC Davis 

A high level, influential Florentine official in the early 16th century, in 1513 Machiavelli was thrown out of office, tortured and imprisoned, and then released to exile. As Dr. Scott explains, it was after this series of events that Machiavelli wrote the works that prompted his name to become a commonly used word. Today, 500 years later,“Machiavellian” refers to the unscrupulous use of people, places and things in order to gain power. Dr Scott’s talk focuses on the book, “The Prince,” in which Machiavelli outlines many of his thoughts on power and the idea that “the ends justify the means.” 

Recorded: February 28, 2014