Machiavellianism
“The Dark Triad” — Shadow Side of Attractiveness
some of us a little too innocent, good, and sweet
Some researchers have found that people with so-called “dark” personality characteristics are more physically charming than others. Most people probably do not consider narcissism seductive qualities in either their friends or romantic partners. We are unconsciously drawn toward people with these personality traits. But why? Why “Machiavellianism” is so attractive to our brain?
Machiavelli was a 16th-century Italian political scholar with powerful advice for nice people who don’t get very far. His thought pivots around a central, uncomfortable observation: that the “wicked” tend to win; and they do so because they have a huge advantage over the “good”: they are willing to act with the darkest ingenuity and cunning to further their cause. They are not held back by those rigid opponents of change: principles. They will be prepared to outright lie, twist facts, threaten, get violent. They will also, when the situation demands it, know how to seductively deceive, use charm and honeyed words, bedazzle and distract. And in this way, they conquer the world. It’s routinely assumed that a large part of what it means to be a good person is that one acts well. One doesn’t only have good ends; one is committed to good means. So, if one wants a more serious world, one needs to win people over through serious arguments. If one wants a fairer world, one has to judiciously and gently try to persuade the agents of injustice to surrender willingly, not through intimidation. And if one wants people to be kind, one must show kindness to one’s enemies, not ruthlessness. It sounds splendid.
Machiavelli couldn’t overlook an incontrovertible problem: it doesn’t work. As he looked back over the history of Florence and the Italian states more generally, he observed that nice princes, statesmen, and merchants always come unstuck. That’s why he wrote the book for which we know him today: “The Prince”, a short, dazzling manual of advice for well-disposed princes on how not to finish last. And the answer, in short, is to be as nice as one wished, but never to be overly devoted to acting nicely, and indeed to know how to borrow, when the need is, every single trick employed by the most cynical, dastardly, unscrupulous, and nastiest people who have ever lived.
The good politician needs to learn from the evil one, the earnest entrepreneur-from the slick one. We are all, eventually, the sum of what we accomplish, not what we intend. If we care about wisdom, kindness, seriousness, and quality, but only ever act reasonably, politely, and seriously, we will, Machiavelli warns us, get nowhere. We need to learn lessons from an unexpected source: those we temperamentally most despise. They have the most to teach us about how to bring about the reality we yearn for, but, that they are fighting against. We need weapons of similar grade steel to theirs. Ultimately, we should care more about being effective than about being nobly intentioned. It’s now enough to dream well. The true measure is what we achieve. The purpose is to change the world for the better, not reside in the quiet comforts of good intentions, and a warm heart. All this Machiavelli knew. He disturbs us for good reason because he probes us where we are at our most self-serving.
We tell ourselves we didn’t get there because we’re a little too innocent, good, and sweet.
Machiavelli bracingly tells us we are stuck because we have been too short-sighted to learn from those who know: our enemies.
The question is that “can we become a machiavellian person”? Yes, everyone can become attractive, but never forget to treat nice to people. Being gentlemen is something else. Please do not mix, Machiavellism with rudeness.