We've Been Misreading Machiavelli for 200 Years - Ada Palmer

Why It Matters

The correction alters the political meaning of Machiavelli’s core prescriptions and challenges modern readings that cast him as proto-democratic, affecting how scholars and political thinkers apply his ideas to contemporary debates about elites and popular power.

Summary

Historian Ada Palmer argues that for two centuries readers have misread Machiavelli’s references to the 'popolo' and 'best' by assuming he meant the broad populace and democratic ideals. In Renaissance Florence, 'popolo' referred to the wealthy merchant class—the top ~4–5%—while the 'best' were an even narrower elite (~0.01%). Machiavelli’s counsel to placate the people rather than the nobles therefore meant courting the influential merchant majority and risking the tiny oligarchy, not empowering a mass democracy. This reframing shifts how his advice about whom rulers should offend and favor should be understood.