Political opportunism Political opportunism Political opportunism refers to the attempt to maintain political support, or increase political influence, in a way which disregards relevant ethical or political principles. The political philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli as described in "The Prince" is often regarded as a classic manual of opportunist scheming, and indeed a "Machiavellian" is nowadays defined as "a cunning, amoral, and opportunist person, especially a politician". Political opportunism is interpreted in different ways, but usually refers to one or more of the following: Typically, opportunist political behavior is criticized for being short-sighted or narrow-minded. That is, in the urge to make short-term
Niccolò Machiavelli aroused by Machiavelli's books. In Machiavelli we find comedies, parodies, and satires but nothing reminding of tragedy. One half of humanity remains outside of his thought. There is no tragedy in Machiavelli because he has no sense of the sacredness of "the common." — Amongst commentators, there are a few consistently made proposals concerning what was most new in Machiavelli's work. Machiavelli is sometimes seen as the prototype of a modern empirical scientist, building generalizations from experience and historical facts, and emphasizing the uselessness of theorizing with the imagination. Machiavelli felt that his early schooling along the lines of a