The Future of Stupidity

Sundeep Waslekar

Exactly 500 years ago, Niccolo Machiavelli served the court of Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois and Romagna, son of Pope Alexander VI, and the military general of the papacy. Machiavelli was so impressed by Borgia’s crude pursuit of power that a decade and half later, he wrote a treatise, The Prince, as an offering to the Medici princes. Machiavelli was particularly impressed by Borgia’s assassination of rivals on the new year’s eve of 1503 in Sinigaglia. He advocated that princes should use crude use of force to acquire and retain power at any cost...............