What is Machiavellianism?

In layman language, Machiavellianism is a psychological term in which a person becomes extremely mean and arrogant and can exploit others for personal gain. In other terms, a Machiavellian is an arrogant, cunning, and dishonest person.

Machiavellianism is a psychological disorder in which a person is only focused on their own interests and they can go to any extent to accomplish their goals. It is one of the three personality disorders, others being narcissism and psychopathy.

The word has originated from the name of Renaissance philosopher, Niccolò Machiavelli who is known for writing the notorious and controversial book ‘Il Principe’. With this book, he brutally imposed his beliefs in favor of strong rulers that they can be too harsh with their enemies, commit many sins to achieve their goals (whether it is legal or illegal). The rulers can use torture, exploitation, and other harsh methods to continue their power.

Machiavellianism has been commonly found in more men than women. However, it found in any age group or gender. According to a recent study, a person who is highly depressed might have a tendency to show Machiavellian traits.

Machiavellianism is a type of psychological trait which means that the person is very much focused on the things that they want to achieve that they will do everything in their power in order to reach it. This means that they would lie, cheat, steal, and do many bad things to other people just to get them nearer to their goal.

They also have the tendency to exploit other people if it would mean that they would reach their main goal easier. This is known to be a part of the Dark Triad which is a triad of “dark” personalities in psychology.