Decaying moral compass is the most pressing crisis in the modern world. It gives birth to a whole lot of problems whether its corruption, crime and discrimination.
I used to be, ironically enough, zealously anti-religious when I was younger. Still wouldn't call myself religious now either, but I realized some time ago that, in many ways, the true value of religion wasn't in any of it's supernatural aspects or even spiritual aspects... it was in it's communal and moral aspects. Say what you want about religion as an institution, but it served a vital function in human civilization for pretty much all of history, acting as a bedrock and foundation of societies and creating a sense of shared culture and community. In losing that, we've lost a lot of the cohesion that once held us together, and lost a lot of the sense of community we used to have to. And that gives rise to greater and greater sense of self-aggrandizement and self-satisfaction. Not to even mention that most of the people who threw aside religion didn't end up any more logical or rational or reasonable when they got rid of it... they just found even more stupid crap to believe in instead.
It’s not so much the decay of morality but instead the weaponization and propagation of a noxious form of this. A moral order at odds with much of the traditional occidental order.
@@gedofgont1006one which has had the most undo influence in foreign policy since its inception. 'dual citizenship' as disingenuous as dual allegiance, a misnomer.
In his writings, particularly "The Prince," Niccolò Machiavelli warns that the fatal flaw leading to the downfall of nations is the inability of rulers to adapt to changing circumstances. Machiavelli stresses that rulers must be keenly aware of shifting political, social, and economic dynamics. When leaders fail to recognize these changes or remain overly dependent on past achievements and static power structures, they become vulnerable. This failure to adapt can lead to a loss of control, causing instability and weakening the state, as leaders become disconnected from the evolving needs of their people and the world around them.
@ Have you ever read a history book about the humans on this planet, change is the only constant in this civilization,therefore you have learn to deal with it the best that you can.
@@huwhitecavebeast1972I’ll take a winner like Donald Trump to lead the country any day. What President has shown more courage? Remember Fight! Fight! Fight! People who voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were driven by passion and ideology not intelligence and common sense. I have a question for those people: Regret your 2020 vote yet?
@@LordZontar An unscrupulous "élite" needs talentless morons with skeletons in their cupboards in those positions. Paedophiles are ideal for this. Even at lower levels one finds a ceiling above which true leaders are not permitted to rise. There's a leaderless club I call Club Narcissist. If there's no gang these people search each other out and then work together by collusion and coercion based on what dirt they have on each other. Being accepted one has to go through the "prospect" phase where dirt is gathered on the prospect
Dear Thinking, The Prince remains one of my favourite reads, and I appreciated that extract. Here in the UK the same principle is increasingly manifest with our police forces, who, while happy to harass individuals for 'hate speech' online, lack the moral fibre to neutralise grooming gangs that are ruining the lives of thousands of young girls. Frank.
I’m not sure about the UK, I just know if I heard the same statment in the U.S. I would inform them even the groups that are concerned about grooming, and not actually looking at actual child abuse. They actually do a disservice to child abuse organizations that are actually on the front lines working in these issue. Like if your going to be a keyboard warrior, at least fact check yourself and try to prove your self wrong to see what survives that effort
@@DaveE99 Dear Dave, There was a petition to have a parliamentary enquiry into grooming gangs UK that gathered over 2 million signatures. It was voted down by over 364 votes to 111. All those voting against were Labour MPs who are our current government. Frank.
@@DaveE99 Dear Dave, The enquiry was supposed to focus on groups of mostly, but not exclusively, men who were subjecting underage girls to horrific sexual assaults. When pressed, many police forces admitted that they had received numerous complaints going back decades. When the victims and their families asked why nothing was being done, the police claimed that since the gangs were Asian they were afraid to be thought of as racists. Frank.
He constantly talked about them in short phrases. He said about the Pope (cant remember his name); "there is no man better to persuade people, and to bring better arguments in his favor than this Pope, and there was never a man who lied more than him". That quote is close to what Machiavelli said. I read Machiavelli 20 years ago and cannot bring the exact words. Have to say that the Pope was the greatest politician of its time. He elevated his son Duke Valentino to run most of northern Italy.
Do not feel depressed. Consider our time-frame as a logic outcome of historical and present-day politics and ideas. A time of changing values, not only the climate. But there will come a time of stabilisation. Be it somewhat you desired, not expected.
I know that Machiavelli was in charge of his city's militia at one point and that he did write tracts on how to run a military in his book "On War." His militia was successful in one battle but lost to a mercenary army in another. I don't think his ideas are wrong at all, especially since he based his conclusions on what he studied in history, but I think his ideas were more ahead of their time when republics were a growing concept and they were starting to realize they needed a professional military that it raised on its own rather than rely on outside forces.
That's where the West is failing particularly the UK. The Government is importing mercenaries who will naturally turn on them. That's what the migrant camps and rape gangs are.
@@jacksnyder7318 I believe that was also the title of Machiavelli's dialogue on war, but I might be mistake on the title. It might be the Art of War, but that was written by Sun Tzu.
@@nicholasyoung2794 I guess it depends on the leaders and their abilities. Keep in mind Machiavelli's militia might not have had the same training or experience or well trained officers as the mercenaries. But here's an example for you, during the Thirty Years War Count Tilly had more experience than Gustavus Adolphus, but he lost to Adolphus who was more innovative than Tilly, but that might prove your point.
It's in fact that the USA 🇺🇸 has reached its zenith and is on the decline. America is too big to comprehend itself , too divided ➗️ to sustain itself and is going through a moral decline. Trump has very little to do with its decline, for it has been going on for at least two decades. It is not that America is rotten but that it has outlived its usefulness for humans to survive and thrive. Moral rearmament is a possible solution and in with a slim chance. The industrial arms complex has been working although it has a place. Russia 🇷🇺 is a different story and has a different role to play in world affairs. So too with China India and Indonesia 🇮🇩, but these countries are not in decline so far.....ICN .
The north koreans are actually intractably callous, concerning their own and comrades' lives. This is unlike most cultures. If you are curious, read the Ukraine reports, as i don't wish to write more here.
The US military has also embraced the practice of granting citizenship based on service and outsourcing research and development to foreign nationals. I would also put the increased prevalence of women in the military in this category. Women absolutely have the same right to defend their homeland and its interests just as men, but their socialization is starkly different than that of males and their motivations are more material. Even the very basis of an army, ideals like duty, loyalty, honor, shape and inhabit the female psyche differently. They are, in the most visceral sense, foreigners to the masculine version of a military. Taking these people as is, without adapting and/or requiring adaptation from them . . . it's like building a house with bricks but using a blueprint for a wooden house. Even with really good bricks, something has to give.
I never could understand why he's so demonized. When I read his work "the prince" , it just seemed he was pointing out facts regarding how society operates.
I see. A friend today is a potential enemy tomorrow. The only people you can trust are the the ones that are in the same boat as you and has skin in the game.
What is a friend? A real friend is someone who shares something important with you, who has important things in common with you. There are also friends of convenience. You are friends as long as interests align. It is the same whether you are talking about individual person or countries.
The lesson of not having mercenaries come to fight your battles…is exemplified by the Romano Britons bringing in the Angles, Saxons and Jutes to fight their enemies. The Angles, Saxons and jutes liked it so much in Britain, the came and settled. Changed the whole future of the Sceptred Isle.
Everything he mentions about mercenaries and allies applies also to immigrants, especially those uninvited who's first act is to break and undermine sound laws
You can't eat your cake &have it ,buddy.Fix your demographics &for heavens sake stop bombing other countries or supporting dictators/kleptocracts so that you dnt have to deal with people fleeing from their countries.
I totally agree with Machiavelli. He was a rational, independant thinker. No doubt he played chess or any other strategic-insight required game ('Go', 'Baduk').
This begs the question of how two notable exceptions came about: The Varangian Guard, which began as Norse Mercenaries hired by the Byzantine Empire, and the Swiss Guard, Swiss Mercenaries hired by the Vatican. These two massively bucked the trends that Machiavelli describes. Why? Can a prince, if forced into a corner where he has no choice but to supplement his defenses with a mercenary firm, can he learn from those exceptions to develop a similar relationship with any mercenaries of his time?
@@eldermillennial8330 if he treats and pays them well and! if he earns their loyalty and if they see him as a rol-model, knowing he will lead and guard them.
The varangian guard swore personal allegiance to the Roman Emperor in Costantinople. And calling them "mercenaries is a bit reductive.. Also they were given plenty of autonomy and even granted right to built settlement inside the empire. At one point the emperor grant them jurisdiction over Krimea if they were able to recover it from the pechenegs. Which they did. The swiss guard were hired from the catholic cantoon of Switzerland and swore a sacred oath to the Pope... Soo calling them "mercenaries" is a bit reductive since they had one master, and only one. And their reason to serve went beyond mere cash...
Machiavelli praises the Swiss for their freedom and military might (despite the old Swiss confederacy playing a big role in italian wars at his time). He also was found of the way the free imperial cities in Germany trained their militias and their internal goverment. During Machiavellies time the Swiss allowed also other states like the French king to hire Swiss Mercenaries, not only the pope. By contract they had their own swiss officiers and were treated by swiss law and could be recalled to Swizerland if the Swiss get attacked. So in both things the Swiss mercenaries proof Machiavellies main points: a well trained citizens milita can be an effective army AND you can't count on the loyality of mercenaries.
@@eldermillennial8330 Loyal people are hard to find. Everyone can be bought with something and everyone has hidden secrets (benevolent or harmfull, positive or negative), which can be used for someones advantage.
I would say that there isn't a single governance or economic system that will not fall to the corruotion, greed, and desire to dominate inherent in those who allow to rule over us.
I dislike Machiavelli's most famous dictum : "It is better to be feared than loved." People will sacrifice much for what they love, even their lives ( that might not be plan A ), but they will destroy that which they fear at the first opportunity they think they have.
Very random: a few years ago I read the first bit of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Supposedly once he reaches the New World the story slows down a lot, but the first few chapters are a very good read and has some very unique themes and style. Take a look if you’d like I think you’d find it interesting.
Sir, In the largely Agrarian economy of the time, the concept that weak laws and weak military were largely the cause of the fall of Nations. In today's world, there are several other factors additionally, that may cause the fall or break up of a nation. We have seen that Over Centralization of political power in the hands of a group or a single individual can lead to the fall of a nation eg: the Old Soviet Union. Economic factors leading to burdensome taxation, due to poor balance of payment, high inequality in the distribution of wealth. Social factors such as overweening corruption in the Bureaucracy and the Judiciary leading to anger and distress in the population, and the rise of Mob justice or Kangaroo Courts in response are also recipes for disaster for a nation. The Rise of Criminal Syndicates taking control of the Economy can also invite foreign Military intervention leading to break up of a Nation.
Machiavelli wrote for the people of his time. It is impossible for one person to get everything, much less elements that emerge in the future. In every field of knowledge, we stand on the shoulders of giants who came before us.
The rich gets richer and the poor get poorer, then when needed to fight a war for the rich, the poor stay home. The country falls and horror able things happen to the rich.
Interesting lesson. Note, the hostage exchange recently. The Palestinian forces marched proudly to the surprise of many. So what about the two state solution?
Interesting, like allowing all one corporations or businesses to move to other countries make a country dependent on others for the flow of resources, not to mention the loss of jobs, making one citizens poorer, such lessons should have been learned by our president before NAFTA was passed…..
BetterHelp is an interesting sponsor for a channel like ThinkingWest. I think BetterHelp represents an over-reliance on professional therapy, which serves the same function as basic friendship. The demand for therapy is a sign of civilizational decline, and yet, ThinkingWest is promoting it. Interesting. I dig the reference to Toynbee, though. I've read "A Study of History" and I think it needs to be revived as a framework through which to study our contemporary society.
Mercenaries always reach the realization. We are poor, are armed, and are willing to use them. Our employers are rich, are not armed, and can't use them is they did. The logic at that point is inescapable.
I'm sure history will come to show that implementing diversity as a "strength" in societies that have evolved to achieve homogeneity and stability over the course of centuries if not longer, will come to be viewed as disastrous for the long time survival of any culture. Precisely what is happening in our modern day pre-Islamic West.
In today's world, the goal of complete self sufficiency for any nation, autarky, is a pipe dream. This world is very interdependent, and our mutual entanglement is increasing, whether we accept it or not. The key for survival will not be the ability to exert enough military force to impose your will, it will be the ability to work cooperatively for mutual benefits with other nations as your peers.
Therapy is mostly ineffective hynotherapy has a higher success rate and works sometimes as quickly as in 6 sessions if you find a good one. You can get stuck in Therapy for decades never getting anywhere.
😅 It's weird to see a pattern I can't relate to as 30-somethings... Perpetually advise reaching for psychiatric advice and medication for personal well-being? It truly has become a generational phenomenon..
Machiavelli believed the best form of Government was a Republic. "The Prince" may be the best known, because it is short and brutally direct, but does not describe how government should be.
How many law enforcement bodies have become domestic mercenaries? Becoming more "professional" breeds contempt for whom they serve, no ties to the community except to other government classes.
This is how Europeans have relied on the US while cutting their own military budgets for the last decades. Sooner or later allies would neglect you (what is probable in case of NATO), or even turn against you (as Venetians turned against Byzantium, not so likely in case of the USA and Europe, but who knows, what happens several decades later)
Mercenaries are not a big issue in the post-modern world. Today a similar mechanism might apply to the large groups of foreign refugees, living off wellfare from western societies, feeling entitled to this and taking it for granted, while maintaining and often further nurturing their foreign identities, values and loyaltlies, which lead to tension and confrontation with values and laws of the host society. These conflicts are erupting in our societies, while we ponder ancient insights...
The similarities between The Prince and Sunzi's Art Of War are obvious. I know the Chinese leaders know Sunzi very well. But how well do western leaders know Machiavelli?
Hiring mercenaries is just the last symptom of a nation decline. A civilized nation needs to maintain an equilibrium between the needs of the ruling class and the needs of the working class. That way the few ruling class would win the hearts and minds of the many working class. The basic example is that mythical Pharaoh that, informed by a dream of 7 fat cows followed by 7 lean cows, conclude that the current economic abundance would be followed by a period of economic scarcity. So he put a portion of this economic abundance aside (granaries) so the population won't suffer too much in the next period of scarcity. When a nation put the needs of the few ruling class above the needs of the many working class, after a number of cycles of economic abundance and economic scarcity, they lose the hearts and minds of the population and cannot called them for a genuine grassroot defense of their rulers. When you feel oppressed by your rulers any excuse to save your own live by defecting is good. That's when the need to use vassals army or mercenaries arise.
Summary of an answer to a Perplexity Pro prompt: “It's impossible to provide a precise number of single, male, military-aged migrants entering America in the last 4 years. But the data suggests the number is likely in the hundreds of thousands.”
Well with the rise of private military corps, which are mercanaries rebranded, the west doesn't look good in that. The pointwith auxiliaries, was proven by the Romanians and italians in ww2 around stalingrad. They did not fight hard enough soviets broke through and encircled the 6th army. Machiavelli was based as fuck.
The surrogate army issue is really what the US (and other Western nations) doing now. Fighting wars using Iraqis, Ukrainians as they did earlier with the South Vietnamese and the South Koreans. None of these wars were really ever won by the US.
Machiavellian was an arrogant jerk He was a rich guy that looked down on the poor in the working class He was all about self-enrichment. So to take his word on anything or his advice would not be a very good idea unless you happen to be a jerk yourself then you'll get along with it great
The Wiki editor in charge of the page covering Machiavelli - is vehemently biased against the man. He refers to a single critic 'Leo Strauss' ---- no less than 22 times --- who describe Machiavelli as 'Evil'
Encyclopedia Britannica provides a more nuanced, balanced overview of his life. I would never recommend Wikipedia for anything as it has become a cesspool of biased rants.
The world needs to awaken to reality of Gods Will, or else God will send the next Carrington Event to utterly destroy all our false dreams. The Virgin Mother warned us of this at multiple times, such as Fatima and Zeitune, Egypt. Wake Up to the Lord's blessings!
Realistic you got to be kidding me You might want to read his crap again sarcastic self-promoting arrogant so that's your view of realistic huh I guess that tells us a little bit about you
If you’re struggling, consider therapy with our sponsor. Click betterhelp.com/thinkingwest for a discount on your first month of therapy.
I've heard a LOT of people say better help is a scam.
Decaying moral compass is the most pressing crisis in the modern world. It gives birth to a whole lot of problems whether its corruption, crime and discrimination.
I used to be, ironically enough, zealously anti-religious when I was younger. Still wouldn't call myself religious now either, but I realized some time ago that, in many ways, the true value of religion wasn't in any of it's supernatural aspects or even spiritual aspects... it was in it's communal and moral aspects. Say what you want about religion as an institution, but it served a vital function in human civilization for pretty much all of history, acting as a bedrock and foundation of societies and creating a sense of shared culture and community. In losing that, we've lost a lot of the cohesion that once held us together, and lost a lot of the sense of community we used to have to. And that gives rise to greater and greater sense of self-aggrandizement and self-satisfaction. Not to even mention that most of the people who threw aside religion didn't end up any more logical or rational or reasonable when they got rid of it... they just found even more stupid crap to believe in instead.
It’s not so much the decay of morality but instead the weaponization and propagation of a noxious form of this. A moral order at odds with much of the traditional occidental order.
De Tocqueville would undoubtedly agree.
Adultery, cheating in marriages
No more loyalty, no 'higher ame'.
Also a number of people with dual citizenships in high positions from the same foreign country.
Yeah it was actually quite common in the premodern world @SheikhBouAoun
Hmmmm...which country might that be?😅
@@gedofgont1006one which has had the most undo influence in foreign policy since its inception. 'dual citizenship' as disingenuous as dual allegiance, a misnomer.
💯
This is actually illegal according to our Constitution. "Citizen of (foreign power)" is a title, bestowed upon our public official.
In his writings, particularly "The Prince," Niccolò Machiavelli warns that the fatal flaw leading to the downfall of nations is the inability of rulers to adapt to changing circumstances. Machiavelli stresses that rulers must be keenly aware of shifting political, social, and economic dynamics. When leaders fail to recognize these changes or remain overly dependent on past achievements and static power structures, they become vulnerable. This failure to adapt can lead to a loss of control, causing instability and weakening the state, as leaders become disconnected from the evolving needs of their people and the world around them.
God, the Lord of lords, never changes. Only liars and those who believe their lies (need to) change all the time.
Not adapting to changing circumstances is fatal to anyone.
@isatousarr7044: A good example of that is Marie Antoinette, Louis XVl, czar Nicholas II, and king George III.
@jbugala6926 The change did cost a few French children their father under Napoleon no ?!
Perhaps change is not always a good idea ?
@ Have you ever read a history book about the humans on this planet, change is the only constant in this civilization,therefore you have learn to deal with it the best that you can.
Putting idiots in power usually has a lot to do with it.
Or traitors.
Put me in power. I can be stupider.
@@huwhitecavebeast1972I’ll take a winner like Donald Trump to lead the country any day. What President has shown more courage? Remember Fight! Fight! Fight! People who voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were driven by passion and ideology not intelligence and common sense. I have a question for those people: Regret your 2020 vote yet?
@@LordZontar An unscrupulous "élite" needs talentless morons with skeletons in their cupboards in those positions. Paedophiles are ideal for this. Even at lower levels one finds a ceiling above which true leaders are not permitted to rise. There's a leaderless club I call Club Narcissist. If there's no gang these people search each other out and then work together by collusion and coercion based on what dirt they have on each other. Being accepted one has to go through the "prospect" phase where dirt is gathered on the prospect
Qualities of Idiot Ignorance & Arrogance.Egoist Motley Men 😊😊
Dear Thinking,
The Prince remains one of my favourite reads, and I appreciated that extract.
Here in the UK the same principle is increasingly manifest with our police forces, who, while happy to harass individuals for 'hate speech' online, lack the moral fibre to neutralise grooming gangs that are ruining the lives of thousands of young girls.
Frank.
I’m not sure about the UK, I just know if I heard the same statment in the U.S. I would inform them even the groups that are concerned about grooming, and not actually looking at actual child abuse. They actually do a disservice to child abuse organizations that are actually on the front lines working in these issue. Like if your going to be a keyboard warrior, at least fact check yourself and try to prove your self wrong to see what survives that effort
@@DaveE99
Dear Dave,
There was a petition to have a parliamentary enquiry into grooming gangs UK that gathered over 2 million signatures. It was voted down by over 364 votes to 111. All those voting against were Labour MPs who are our current government.
Frank.
@ but what were they really investigating?
@@DaveE99
Dear Dave,
The enquiry was supposed to focus on groups of mostly, but not exclusively, men who were subjecting underage girls to horrific sexual assaults. When pressed, many police forces admitted that they had received numerous complaints going back decades. When the victims and their families asked why nothing was being done, the police claimed that since the gangs were Asian they were afraid to be thought of as racists.
Frank.
Unbelievable and unforgivable.
Great presentation, thanks for posting. Did Machiavelli say anything about treacherous politicians, like the ones we have today?
Discorsi has an implication that every 10-20 years you need an massive anti-corruption trial with harsh sentences to reign elites in.
He did in his second major work: Discorsi
@swashbukk Thanks for the information.
@@swashbukkA Must read. The UK has a nest of them who are most compromised (some say many are pdf files)
He constantly talked about them in short phrases.
He said about the Pope (cant remember his name); "there is no man better to persuade people, and to bring better arguments in his favor than this Pope, and there was never a man who lied more than him".
That quote is close to what Machiavelli said. I read Machiavelli 20 years ago and cannot bring the exact words.
Have to say that the Pope was the greatest politician of its time. He elevated his son Duke Valentino to run most of northern Italy.
I wasn't feeling depressed until the ad came on.😭
😂
Do not feel depressed. Consider our time-frame as a logic outcome of historical and present-day politics and ideas. A time of changing values, not only the climate. But there will come a time of stabilisation. Be it somewhat you desired, not expected.
I know that Machiavelli was in charge of his city's militia at one point and that he did write tracts on how to run a military in his book "On War." His militia was successful in one battle but lost to a mercenary army in another. I don't think his ideas are wrong at all, especially since he based his conclusions on what he studied in history, but I think his ideas were more ahead of their time when republics were a growing concept and they were starting to realize they needed a professional military that it raised on its own rather than rely on outside forces.
That's where the West is failing particularly the UK. The Government is importing mercenaries who will naturally turn on them. That's what the migrant camps and rape gangs are.
"On war" was written by Carl von Clausewitz.
@@jacksnyder7318 I believe that was also the title of Machiavelli's dialogue on war, but I might be mistake on the title. It might be the Art of War, but that was written by Sun Tzu.
Sometimes an Intellectual leader cannot stop a too ambitious military leader
@@nicholasyoung2794 I guess it depends on the leaders and their abilities. Keep in mind Machiavelli's militia might not have had the same training or experience or well trained officers as the mercenaries. But here's an example for you, during the Thirty Years War Count Tilly had more experience than Gustavus Adolphus, but he lost to Adolphus who was more innovative than Tilly, but that might prove your point.
So, Russia's use of North Korean mercenaries is a sign of Russia's decline? I would agree.
It's a sign of being allied
@@ulflyng is it though?
When I should think of Russia and Mercenaries, I thought more about the Wagner-Group. Do they still exist?
@@pinchebruha405 It's allowing them actual battle experience in trade for their support. A win win of sorts for the Ally's. ✌️☯️🍀
It's in fact that the USA 🇺🇸 has reached its zenith and is on the decline.
America is too big to comprehend itself , too divided ➗️ to sustain itself and is going through a moral decline. Trump has very little to do with its decline, for it has been going on for at least two decades. It is not that America is rotten but that it has outlived its usefulness for humans to survive and thrive. Moral rearmament is a possible solution and in with a slim chance. The industrial arms complex has been working although it has a place. Russia 🇷🇺 is a different story and has a different role to play in world affairs. So too with China India and Indonesia 🇮🇩, but these countries are not in decline so far.....ICN .
Private military contractors, anyone?
ISIS? Taliban?
lol; the generals didn't read Machiavelli at West Point i guess.
Eric Prince?
The north koreans are actually intractably callous, concerning their own and comrades' lives.
This is unlike most cultures.
If you are curious, read the Ukraine reports, as i don't wish to write more here.
The US military has also embraced the practice of granting citizenship based on service and outsourcing research and development to foreign nationals.
I would also put the increased prevalence of women in the military in this category. Women absolutely have the same right to defend their homeland and its interests just as men, but their socialization is starkly different than that of males and their motivations are more material. Even the very basis of an army, ideals like duty, loyalty, honor, shape and inhabit the female psyche differently. They are, in the most visceral sense, foreigners to the masculine version of a military.
Taking these people as is, without adapting and/or requiring adaptation from them . . . it's like building a house with bricks but using a blueprint for a wooden house.
Even with really good bricks, something has to give.
They are fighting a "proxy war" for us.
wow that ad was exactly the reason I clicked this! amazing.
I find it hilarious a video about Machiavelli is sponsored by BETTER HELP... amazing
I never could understand why he's so demonized. When I read his work "the prince" , it just seemed he was pointing out facts regarding how society operates.
This was the most positive and upbeat take of Machiavelli that I have seen. Thank you for this video.
I see. A friend today is a potential enemy tomorrow. The only people you can trust are the the ones that are in the same boat as you and has skin in the game.
Unity not Diversity is strength
What is a friend? A real friend is someone who shares something important with you, who has important things in common with you. There are also friends of convenience. You are friends as long as interests align.
It is the same whether you are talking about individual person or countries.
The worst of circumstances can result in the strongest friendships. Just a thought.
Great informational video,keep it up.
The lesson of not having mercenaries come to fight your battles…is exemplified by the Romano Britons bringing in the Angles, Saxons and Jutes to fight their enemies. The Angles, Saxons and jutes liked it so much in Britain, the came and settled. Changed the whole future of the Sceptred Isle.
Everything he mentions about mercenaries and allies applies also to immigrants, especially those uninvited who's first act is to break and undermine sound laws
You can't eat your cake &have it ,buddy.Fix your demographics &for heavens sake stop bombing other countries or supporting dictators/kleptocracts so that you dnt have to deal with people fleeing from their countries.
Exactly right!
Well, no.
But muh cultural enrichment.
'Whose', not 'who's'.
well done, all things have an expiration date
When I first read this book I saw it as a guide for nations to follow to keep them from failing.
This channel and Sanctus are it 🗣️✝️
What happens to companies that rely on temporary workers?
Same story. If you rely on temporary workers, you better make sure that you do not depend on them when you run into big problems.
I totally agree with Machiavelli. He was a rational, independant thinker. No doubt he played chess or any other strategic-insight required game ('Go', 'Baduk').
This begs the question of how two notable exceptions came about:
The Varangian Guard, which began as Norse Mercenaries hired by the Byzantine Empire, and the Swiss Guard, Swiss Mercenaries hired by the Vatican.
These two massively bucked the trends that Machiavelli describes. Why? Can a prince, if forced into a corner where he has no choice but to supplement his defenses with a mercenary firm, can he learn from those exceptions to develop a similar relationship with any mercenaries of his time?
@@eldermillennial8330 if he treats and pays them well and! if he earns their loyalty and if they see him as a rol-model, knowing he will lead and guard them.
The Vatican has terror managment theory behind them.
The varangian guard swore personal allegiance to the Roman Emperor in Costantinople.
And calling them "mercenaries is a bit reductive..
Also they were given plenty of autonomy and even granted right to built settlement inside the empire.
At one point the emperor grant them jurisdiction over Krimea if they were able to recover it from the pechenegs. Which they did.
The swiss guard were hired from the catholic cantoon of Switzerland and swore a sacred oath to the Pope...
Soo calling them "mercenaries" is a bit reductive since they had one master, and only one.
And their reason to serve went beyond mere cash...
Machiavelli praises the Swiss for their freedom and military might (despite the old Swiss confederacy playing a big role in italian wars at his time). He also was found of the way the free imperial cities in Germany trained their militias and their internal goverment. During Machiavellies time the Swiss allowed also other states like the French king to hire Swiss Mercenaries, not only the pope. By contract they had their own swiss officiers and were treated by swiss law and could be recalled to Swizerland if the Swiss get attacked. So in both things the Swiss mercenaries proof Machiavellies main points: a well trained citizens milita can be an effective army AND you can't count on the loyality of mercenaries.
@@eldermillennial8330 Loyal people are hard to find. Everyone can be bought with something and everyone has hidden secrets (benevolent or harmfull, positive or negative), which can be used for someones advantage.
I would say that there isn't a single governance or economic system that will not fall to the corruotion, greed, and desire to dominate inherent in those who allow to rule over us.
I dislike Machiavelli's most famous dictum : "It is better to be feared than loved." People will sacrifice much for what they love, even their lives ( that might not be plan A ), but they will destroy that which they fear at the first opportunity they think they have.
But look at the times he was living in.
@@pluffer241 Ours are really that different ?
Very random: a few years ago I read the first bit of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Supposedly once he reaches the New World the story slows down a lot, but the first few chapters are a very good read and has some very unique themes and style. Take a look if you’d like I think you’d find it interesting.
I read parts of it in one of Mortimer Adler’s books about the importance of classical education
"Moll Flanders" will open your eyes about colonial America.
Probably the “International Well poisoners”
Sir, In the largely Agrarian economy of the time, the concept that weak laws and weak military were largely the cause of the fall of Nations. In today's world, there are several other factors additionally, that may cause the fall or break up of a nation. We have seen that Over Centralization of political power in the hands of a group or a single individual can lead to the fall of a nation eg: the Old Soviet Union. Economic factors leading to burdensome taxation, due to poor balance of payment, high inequality in the distribution of wealth. Social factors such as overweening corruption in the Bureaucracy and the Judiciary leading to anger and distress in the population, and the rise of Mob justice or Kangaroo Courts in response are also recipes for disaster for a nation.
The Rise of Criminal Syndicates taking control of the Economy can also invite foreign Military intervention leading to break up of a Nation.
Machiavelli wrote for the people of his time. It is impossible for one person to get everything, much less elements that emerge in the future. In every field of knowledge, we stand on the shoulders of giants who came before us.
Mon. 13 Jan. 2025 :
Thank you for your presentation .
Despite this warning and all the flaws of mercenaries - this business is quite flourishing!
Definition: Proxy War == A war fought by foreign mercenaries.
i agree, if there was a leader, i would follow him.
The only best counterexample is how the Netherlands staved off certain defeat for 159 years+.
The rich gets richer and the poor get poorer, then when needed to fight a war for the rich, the poor stay home. The country falls and horror able things happen to the rich.
Interesting lesson. Note, the hostage exchange recently. The Palestinian forces marched proudly to the surprise of many. So what about the two state solution?
Interesting, like allowing all one corporations or businesses to move to other countries make a country dependent on others for the flow of resources, not to mention the loss of jobs, making one citizens poorer, such lessons should have been learned by our president before NAFTA was passed…..
BetterHelp is an interesting sponsor for a channel like ThinkingWest. I think BetterHelp represents an over-reliance on professional therapy, which serves the same function as basic friendship. The demand for therapy is a sign of civilizational decline, and yet, ThinkingWest is promoting it. Interesting. I dig the reference to Toynbee, though. I've read "A Study of History" and I think it needs to be revived as a framework through which to study our contemporary society.
Mercenaries always reach the realization. We are poor, are armed, and are willing to use them. Our employers are rich, are not armed, and can't use them is they did.
The logic at that point is inescapable.
I'm sure history will come to show that implementing diversity as a "strength" in societies that have evolved to achieve homogeneity and stability over the course of centuries if not longer, will come to be viewed as disastrous for the long time survival of any culture.
Precisely what is happening in our modern day pre-Islamic West.
In today's world, the goal of complete self sufficiency for any nation, autarky, is a pipe dream. This world is very interdependent, and our mutual entanglement is increasing, whether we accept it or not. The key for survival will not be the ability to exert enough military force to impose your will, it will be the ability to work cooperatively for mutual benefits with other nations as your peers.
Therapy is mostly ineffective hynotherapy has a higher success rate and works sometimes as quickly as in 6 sessions if you find a good one. You can get stuck in Therapy for decades never getting anywhere.
😅 It's weird to see a pattern I can't relate to as 30-somethings... Perpetually advise reaching for psychiatric advice and medication for personal well-being? It truly has become a generational phenomenon..
We helped throw the family system in the trash with our me first egos, so where else are the kids going go looking for understanding?
Machiavelli believed the best form of Government was a Republic. "The Prince" may be the best known, because it is short and brutally direct, but does not describe how government should be.
How many law enforcement bodies have become domestic mercenaries? Becoming more "professional" breeds contempt for whom they serve, no ties to the community except to other government classes.
"Maquiavel escreveu o que os homens fizeram; e não o que ele fez"..... Francis Bacon
This is how Europeans have relied on the US while cutting their own military budgets for the last decades. Sooner or later allies would neglect you (what is probable in case of NATO), or even turn against you (as Venetians turned against Byzantium, not so likely in case of the USA and Europe, but who knows, what happens several decades later)
Looking at you, Russia.
Mercenaries are not a big issue in the post-modern world. Today a similar mechanism might apply to the large groups of foreign refugees, living off wellfare from western societies, feeling entitled to this and taking it for granted, while maintaining and often further nurturing their foreign identities, values and loyaltlies, which lead to tension and confrontation with values and laws of the host society. These conflicts are erupting in our societies, while we ponder ancient insights...
It's all narcissistic behaviour, with fire power😅 on steroids.
The similarities between The Prince and Sunzi's Art Of War are obvious. I know the Chinese leaders know Sunzi very well. But how well do western leaders know Machiavelli?
Considered ditching the shrink and the pills😅
Somebody send this to Dick Durbin.
Hiring mercenaries is just the last symptom of a nation decline. A civilized nation needs to maintain an equilibrium between the needs of the ruling class and the needs of the working class. That way the few ruling class would win the hearts and minds of the many working class. The basic example is that mythical Pharaoh that, informed by a dream of 7 fat cows followed by 7 lean cows, conclude that the current economic abundance would be followed by a period of economic scarcity. So he put a portion of this economic abundance aside (granaries) so the population won't suffer too much in the next period of scarcity. When a nation put the needs of the few ruling class above the needs of the many working class, after a number of cycles of economic abundance and economic scarcity, they lose the hearts and minds of the population and cannot called them for a genuine grassroot defense of their rulers. When you feel oppressed by your rulers any excuse to save your own live by defecting is good. That's when the need to use vassals army or mercenaries arise.
The way you explain mercenaries sounds like your describing modern police forces
The fatal flaw of all youtube videos are long advertisements that can't be avoided. Take heed.
Machiavelli knew the source OF THAT as well~
Thought of fast forward the ads?
Summary of an answer to a Perplexity Pro prompt: “It's impossible to provide a precise number of single, male, military-aged migrants entering America in the last 4 years. But the data suggests the number is likely in the hundreds of thousands.”
Half of this is advertising and no option to skip no subscription
Well with the rise of private military corps, which are mercanaries rebranded, the west doesn't look good in that.
The pointwith auxiliaries, was proven by the Romanians and italians in ww2 around stalingrad. They did not fight hard enough soviets broke through and encircled the 6th army. Machiavelli was based as fuck.
Totally agree,a nati
Get ten percent off your first month of therapy...😂 machievelli
The surrogate army issue is really what the US (and other Western nations) doing now. Fighting wars using Iraqis, Ukrainians as they did earlier with the South Vietnamese and the South Koreans. None of these wars were really ever won by the US.
Machiavellian was an arrogant jerk He was a rich guy that looked down on the poor in the working class He was all about self-enrichment. So to take his word on anything or his advice would not be a very good idea unless you happen to be a jerk yourself then you'll get along with it great
The fatal flaw that destroys nations is Macchiavelli 😂
The Wiki editor in charge of the page covering Machiavelli - is vehemently biased against the man.
He refers to a single critic 'Leo Strauss' ---- no less than 22 times --- who describe Machiavelli as 'Evil'
Encyclopedia Britannica provides a more nuanced, balanced overview of his life. I would never recommend Wikipedia for anything as it has become a cesspool of biased rants.
Hmm
Metal gear solid stuff
Our fatal Flaw is Original Sin, our or tendency to say "NO" to God.
Godlessness destroys nations. When people turn away from Jesus Christ, running after their own desires, all the horrors follow.
O 'bamas buddy
The world needs to awaken to reality of Gods Will, or else God will send the next Carrington Event to utterly destroy all our false dreams. The Virgin Mother warned us of this at multiple times, such as Fatima and Zeitune, Egypt. Wake Up to the Lord's blessings!
Russia has experienced this 2 years ago. Putin should have learned from Machiavelli. 😅😅😅
Realistic you got to be kidding me You might want to read his crap again sarcastic self-promoting arrogant so that's your view of realistic huh I guess that tells us a little bit about you