[DieHard the Hunter]

> The former is a lie and the latter a fairy tale.

There would be a good technical reason for that: neither are possible, particularly if you are a follower of Machiavelli.

In “The Prince” our friend Niccolo outlines the skills that would be necessary to run what amounts to a Dictatorship. Benevolence is not one of those skills: in fact, it could get the dictator killed dead. It is better to be feared than to be loved.

In “The Republic” he describes his vision on how a Republic should work. Public participation and debate cause internal conflicts that strengthen the Republic and provide checks against abuse of power: these are hardly efficient, by necessity. The Republic is the anti-Medici anti-Dictatorship. Dictatorships are efficient: Republics are not.

[GonzoGOP]

There would be a good technical reason for that: neither are possible, particularly if you are a follower of Machiavelli.

If Obama had read the prince he would know that if given a choice between offending the elites and offending the people you should always offend the elites. The elites have more to loose and are hence more easily controlled. Once the people have turned on you there is no place to run. Obama is like the princes in Machiavelli who built forts in lands they had made hostile to them. The more he shelters inside the beltway the more the rest of the country will turn on him.

[Daveinyork]

“In “The Prince” our friend Niccolo outlines the skills that would be necessary to run what amounts to a Dictatorship. Benevolence is not one of those skills: in fact, it could get the dictator killed dead.”

Which is why Heinlein said that benevolent dictatorships were as rare as efficient democracies.