More than 500 years ago, Niccolo Machiavelli, the father of modern political science, offered sound advice on how citizens of a republic can maintain their freedoms.
He did so in The Discourses on Livy, a work of political history and philosophy. One of its longest chapters—Book Three, Chapter Six—covers “Of Conspiracies.”
This offers sound counsel for those who wish to conspire against a ruler. And for those who might well become the targets of conspiracies.
Among his advisories: A single plotter avoids the danger faced by two or more conspirators:
Since no one knows his intention, he can’t be betrayed by an accomplice.
Anyone may form a plot, whether he is prominent or insignificant, because everyone is at some time allowed to speak to the prince. And he can use this opportunity to satisfy his desire for revenge.
Joseph Stalin, undisputed dictator of the Soviet Union, may well have died at the hands of a single conspirator: His own secret police chief.
Joseph Stalin
Throughout his nearly 30-year reign over the Soviet Union, at least 20 million men, women and children died—from executions, deportations, imprisonment in Gulag camps, and a man-made famine through the forced collection of harvests. During the last weeks of his life, Stalin was planning yet another purge.
Among its intended victims: The highest-ranking officials of his regime.
Then, on March 5, 1953, Stalin died—officially from a cerebral hemorrhage.
In the 2004 book, Stalin’s Last Crime, Vladimir P. Naumov, a Russian historian, and Jonathan Brent, a Yale University Soviet scholar, assert that he might have been poisoned.
If this happened, the occasion was during a final dinner with four members of the Politburo. Two of these were Lavrenti P. Beria, chief of the secret police, and Nikita S. Khrushchev, who eventually succeeded Stalin.
The authors believe that, if Stalin was poisoned, the most likely suspect was Beria. The method: Slipping warfarin, a tasteless and colorless blood thinner also used as a rat killer, into his glass of wine.
In Nikita Khrushchev’s 1970 memoirs, he quotes Beria as telling Vyacheslav M. Molotov, another Politburo member, two months after Stalin’s death: “I did him in! I saved all of you.”
According to Machiavelli: Those who take part in a conspiracy against a ruler are “the great men of the state, or those on terms of familiar intercourse with the prince.”
These are men who have access to him. Julius Caesar, for example, was stabbed to death by members of the Roman Senate, who feared his assuming dictatorial powers.
And Adolf Hitler was conspired against by colonels and generals of the German Army. He was in fact holding a war conference when a briefcase bomb exploded, killing three officers and a stenographer, but leaving Hitler only slightly injured.
Adolf Hitler
There are five ways a conspiracy can be foiled:
- Discovery through denunciation;
- Discovery through carelessness;
- Discovery through writings;
- Dangers in executing the conspiracy;
- Dangers following the execution of the conspiracy.
Discovery through Denunciation: This occurs through treachery or lack of prudence among one or more conspirators.
Treachery is so common that you can safely tell your plans to only your most trusted friends who are willing to risk their lives for your sake. You may find that you have only one or two of these.
But as you are bring more people into the conspiracy, the chances of discovery greatly increase. It’s impossible to find many who can be completely trusted: For their devotion to you must be greater than their sense of danger and fear of punishment.
Discovery through Carelessness: This happens when one of the conspirators speaks incautiously, so that a third person overhears it. Or it may occur from thoughtlessness, when a conspirator tells the secret to his wife or child, or to some other indiscreet person.
When a conspiracy has more than three or four members, its discovery is almost certain, either through treason, imprudence or carelessness.
If more than one conspirator is arrested, the whole plot is discovered, for it will be impossible for any two to agree perfectly as to all their statements.
Niccolo Machiavelli
If one of them becomes fearful—whether it’s the one who was arrested or is still at liberty—discovery of the conspiracy is certain.
The best way to avoid such detection is to confide your project to your intended fellow conspirators at the moment of execution—and not sooner.
A classic example of this occurred in ancient Persia. According to the Greek historian Herodotus: A group of nobles assembled to discuss overthrowing a usurper to the throne. The last one to arrive was Darius.
When one of the conspirators asked, “When should we strike?” Darius replied: “We must either go now at this very moment and carry it into execution, or I shall go and denounce you all. For I will not give any of you time to denounce me.”
At that, they went directly to the palace, assassinated the usurper and proclaimed Darius their new king.
ABC NEWS, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, ADOLF HITLER, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, ANDREW JOHNSON, AP, ASSASSINATION, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BUZZFEED, CANADA, CBS NEWS, CNN, CONSPIRACIES, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOS, DONALD TRUMP, EAST WING OF THE WHITE HOUSE, EMPEROR COMMODUS, FBI, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, GAIUS CASSIUS, GEORGE ALZERODT, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, immigration, JAMES COMEY, JANUARY 6 COUP ATTEMPT, JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, JOHN WILKES BOOTH, JOSEPH STALIN, JULIUS CAESAR, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, LAVRENTI BERIA, LETITIA JAMES, LEWIS POWELL, MARCUS BRUTUS, MARK ANTHONY, MEDIA MATTERS, MEGAN LORRAINE UTZ, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NBC NEWS, NEWSWEEK, NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI, NPR, PBS NEWSHOUR, PLOTS, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REUTERS, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, Secret Service, SLATE, SOVIET UNION, TALKING POINTS MEMO, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE DISCOURSES, THE DISCOURSES (BOOK), THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE PRINCE (BOOK), THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UPI, USA TODAY, WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM, WILLIAM H. SEWARD, WONKETTE, X
MACHIAVELLI: A FEW MODEST PROPOSALS FOR CONSPIRATORS–PART THREE (OF FOUR)
In Bureaucracy, History, Politics, Social commentary on November 4, 2026 at 12:14 amMore than 500 years ago, Niccolo Machiavelli, the father of modern political science, offered sound advice for how citizens of a republic can maintain their freedoms.
He did so in The Discourses on Livy, a work of political history and philosophy. One of its longest chapters—Book Three, Chapter Six—covers “Of Conspiracies.” In it, those who wish to conspire against a ruler will find highly useful advice.
And so will those who might well become the targets of conspiracies.
Among his advisories: There are five ways a conspiracy can be foiled:
The first two have already been profiled. Now for the remaining three.
Discovery through Writings: You may talk freely with any one man about everything, for unless you have committed yourself in writing, the “Yes” of one man is worth as much as the “No” of another.
Thus, you should guard most carefully against writing, as against a dangerous rock, for nothing will convict you quicker than your own handwriting.
You may escape, then, from the accusation of a single individual, unless you are convicted by some writing or other pledge, which you should be careful never to give.
If you are denounced, there are means of escaping punishment:
But the most prudent course is to not tell your intentions to anyone, and to carry out the attempt yourself.
Even if you’re not discovered before you carry out your attack, there are still two dangers facing a conspirator:
Dangers in Execution: These result from:
Adolf Hitler, who claimed to have a sixth-sense for danger, was famous for changing his routine at the last minute.
On November 9, 1939, this instinct saved his life. He had been scheduled to give a long speech at a Munich beer hall before the “Old Fighters” of his storm troopers.
But that evening he cut short his speech and left the beer hall. Forty-five minutes later, a bomb exploded inside a pillar—before which Hitler had been speaking.
An unexpected lack of courage can also doom a conspiracy.
…Two brothers of Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, plotted against his life, and employed for the execution of their plot one Giannes, the Duke’s almoner and musician, who several times at their request brought the Duke to them….but neither of them had the courage to do it.
The conspiracy was discovered, and they bore the penalty of their wickedness and their imprudence.
Conspirators can sabotage their efforts by speaking before acting:
Lucilla, the sister of the Emperor Commodus, ordered Quintianus to kill him. He lay in wait for Commodus at the entrance of the amphitheater, and, on stepping up to him with drawn dagger, cried, “The Senate sends you this!” which caused Quintianus to be arrested before he had time to strike Commodus….
The more people targeted for assassination, the more likely the conspiracy is to fail.
Conspiracies against single individuals are generally apt to fail…but when undertaken against two or more persons, they fail much easier. Such conspiracies present so many difficulties that it is almost impossible that they should succeed.
In fact, to strike two blows of this kind at the same instant and in different places is impracticable, and to attempt to do so at different moments of time would certainly result in the one’s preventing the other.
John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, planned to murder not only Lincoln but two other high-ranking officials: Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William H. Seward.
On the night of April 14, 1865, Booth assassinated Lincoln at Ford’s Theater. But George Alzerodt, who had been picked to murder Johnson, lost his nerve and never tried to carry out his assignment.
And Lewis Powell attacked Seward in his home, stabbing him five times in the face and neck, but failed to kill him. After struggling with a bodyguard and one of Seward’s sons, Powell fled.
Conspirators can also be undone by their good intentions.
In 44 B.C., Gaius Cassius, Marcus Brutus and other Roman senators decided to assassinate Julius Caesar, whose dictatorial ambitions they feared.
Cassius also intended to murder Mark Anthony, Caesar’s strongest ally.
But Brutus objected, fearing the plotters would look like butchers, not saviors. Even worse, he allowed Anthony to deliver a eulogy at Caesar’s funeral.
This proved so inflammatory that the mourners rioted, driving the conspirators out of Rome. Soon afterward, they were defeated in a battle with the legions of Anthony and Octavian Caesar—and forced to commit suicide to avoid capture and execution.
Share this:
Like this: