Currently writing this thread, wanted to post this separate so that thread doesn’t get derailed "I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, not to hate them, but to understand them." - Baruch Spinoza You have to have principles that guide your actions, you don't ever fully ignore them and go completely Machiavelli and simply go for the most expedient effective solution . You need to solve the problem first and then apply your principles second. You’re still making a principled decision but your making the lease shitty choice. Often when trying to solve very complicated human problems there are no easy or perfect solutions, as Machiavelli points out that very often the good principled people lose throughout human history to evil people because they put their principles first and the solution second instead of vice versa. Simply because those who aren't decent don't have to compromise principles, they are willing to do what others are not and that's why they rise to positions of power. So to put it simply there are no good solutions for important issues directly effected humanity, there are bad solutions and there are worse solutions. What most people do because of their ideologies and principles (there values like freedom) is they take everything off the table that violates their principles and they are as a result left with no solutions. This is why ideologies fail, this is why Communism can't succeed etc... Because they are only left with half measures and token gestures that waste energy, money and don't solve anything. There's no point in doing anything if you don't solve the problem, solutions come first and they are guided by your principles, you need to be a able to bend and compromise your principles in order to achieve your goals and implement a solution to a problem. Otherwise you lose and others who don't care for your principles and ethics win. If your not willing to solve the problem don't bother. You need to be comfortable and come to terms with the fact that what ever you do, its going to be shitty. Most people use their principles like safety blankets because they're afraid and in cable of doing what is necessary to actually make the world a better place. If the problem was easy to solve it would have been solved a long time ago. The fact that it hasn't been solved is because its going to be difficult, its going to be hard and its going to be shitty, hence the cancer patient analogy, but you have to do what is optimal for a functioning world and for your principle, you have to solve the problem first, there are no perfect answers. So solution first and principles second. Machiavelli’s Advice For Nice Guys Tried reading Machiavelli’s Prince but that shit was boring as fuck, and he kept talking about shit that was happening at that time like, the city state of Florence was raided by Prince fuck face blah blah, if you’re interested in Machiavelli just read what people have said about him unless your masochistic.
Anyway my main point was this, do whatever you have to do to get what you want. If you don’t do what you have to do, it’s only because you’re afraid or find the solution distasteful, but that’s no excuse to not do what needs to be done to win, sometimes throats need to be cut, if I’m wrong how?