"Machiavelli’s Prince is a masterwork of ironic writing with a moral purpose. On the one hand, it warns aspiring princes about the dangers of trying to assert absolute control over people who care about freedom. ...

... On the other, it teaches ordinary citizens to recognize early warning signs of control-hungry behaviour in their leaders, and to impress on them the need to establish political and military ‘orders’ (ordini) that can keep tyranny at bay."