Newbies Can Ask Anyone

[Merry]

any more questions? have a snack while you think of some!

[Cfavano]

When is it acceptable for a leader to be cruel?

[Omac]

@Cfavano; It's acceptable for a leader to be cruel if it comes down to success and survival. If they have to play the bad guy in order to get everyone out of a bad situation, escape an island, or win a war then it's acceptable. Of course, that's all my personal opinion.

[Cfavano]

its not opinion, you are correct.

Are you familiar with 'The Prince'?

[DreamDragon101]

How do you bookmark topics you have post in so you can come back to them later on?

[Storm]

How do you bookmark topics you have post in so you can come back to them later on?

One way is by subscribing to the thread you have the post in, that way anytime there is an update, you see it when you click settings, you can see all your subscriptions too. Just go to the 'Thread Tools' at the top of any thread.

[Alura]

its not opinion, you are correct.

Are you familiar with 'The Prince'?

I would wager that most have read The Prince and at least have a passing notion of Machiavellianism. Still, it would differ from Omac's answer in the sense that Machiavelli writes more of self-interest. It is possible to be amoral or immoral and work towards the good of others or a common good, but Machiavelli was more about pursuit and attainment of one's own goals at the expense of others - even your own people. That would be like leading your party to escape an island because you are aware that you will need to sacrifice one to the ocean god and several will be needed as shields and pawns for trade in order for you to reach your destination. Not because of any interest in actually being a competent leader, or because your survival benefits "the greater good". Any belief in a sort of "divine right" being cause enough for a leader to outlive any others is a little unbalanced from the beginning, to boot, and most who adhere to such a thing (as in this case) do not feel any true responsibility or accountability for the benefits of such a perceived blessing. He advocated knowing yourself and knowing those around you purely for reasons of personal power.

When it comes to military strategists with a mind for politics, I would take Sun Tzu over Machiavelli hands down any day of the week. Despite frequently being quoted out of context, his tenets are more to the tune that you have already lost if weapons are drawn. I tend to think this is true. If your only strategy is to sacrifice every card in your deck to preserve yourself then you really build nothing of value. If you outmaneuver your opponents before the game has even begun then you not only truly win, you may gain respect if not alliances. You cull out future problems in your own ranks before you look outward. You also teach by example without having to wank out patronising droning like The Prince. Much more effective big picture and not insignificantly also results in a much more modest dry-cleaning bill.

[Davina]

This site is different…how does this work?

[Kiki]

Let me know if you still have this as a question, Davina! I can help out.