6 People Machiavelli Says You Can Never Trust

Summary

The video presents six kinds of relationships that, in Machiavelli’s view, call for caution. Its central message is not to distrust everyone, but to judge trust by people’s actions—especially when acting honestly or loyally costs them something.

Machiavelli’s advice is framed through his experience of political betrayal and disappointment. The narrator also cautions that Machiavelli wrote about rulers and power, so some of his conclusions are severe. The practical aim is clearer judgment, not paranoia.

The six people to be cautious about

1. The flatterer

   • This person agrees with you, praises your decisions, and avoids sharing unwelcome truths.
   • Constant approval can leave you blind to mistakes or problems.
   • Practical lesson: Make it clear that honest criticism is welcome. Ask people you trust for specific feedback, and notice who gives candid answers rather than saying everything is perfect.

2. The fair-weather friend

   • They are present when life is going well but may disappear when you are struggling or have nothing to offer.
   • Loyalty is easy to promise when it comes at no cost.
   • Practical lesson: Judge friendship by who shows up during illness, grief, or hardship—not just by who attends celebrations. Notice what people do when you need support.

3. The charming promiser

   • This person makes emphatic assurances, often promising that things will be different, but their actions do not match their words.
   • The narrator cites Pope Alexander VI as Machiavelli’s example of someone who swore convincingly but repeatedly deceived others.
   • Practical lesson: Evaluate a person’s pattern of behavior, not the intensity of their promises. Repeatedly broken commitments are not repaired by making another, louder promise.

4. The person who consistently pursues their own advantage

   • Their conversations and offers of help tend to serve their interests, even if they seem pleasant or generous.
   • Pragmatic relationships are not necessarily wrong; the mistake is assuming they are deeper or more loyal than they are.
   • Practical lesson: You can maintain a useful or cordial relationship while being careful about sharing vulnerabilities, secrets, or personal trust.

5. The person you helped rise

   • Someone you trained, supported, or introduced to influential people may become uncomfortable with the person who remembers their earlier, less powerful position.
   • The narrator distinguishes this from Machiavelli’s colder advice: continue helping people, but do not expect their success to guarantee lifelong gratitude.
   • Practical lesson: Give help without treating future gratitude or loyalty as a debt. If someone grows distant, it may reflect their discomfort with their past rather than a judgment of your worth.

6. The person you once wronged and then tried to make amends with

   • Kindness after an injury does not necessarily mean the resentment has disappeared.
   • The video recounts Cesare Borgia’s decision to allow Giuliano della Rovere—later Pope Julius II, whom Borgia had previously offended—to become pope. Borgia apparently believed that later promises or favors would overcome the old grievance; the new pope eventually turned against him.
   • Practical lesson: Apologize sincerely and try to repair harm, but do not assume favors have erased the injury or place your fate in the other person’s hands to test whether they have forgiven you. Give the relationship time, and be honest with yourself about your feelings if you are the one who was hurt.

Broader lessons

• Avoid both recklessness and paranoia. Overconfidence can make you careless, while excessive suspicion can make you intolerable to others.
• Trust is earned through observable behavior. Love and affection may be real, but they do not automatically establish reliability.
• People’s choices matter most when loyalty has a cost. Watch what they do when they risk losing something, face inconvenience, or have little to gain.
• You cannot control whether others betray you. You can, however, be discerning about whom you rely on and choose what to build in your own life.
• The narrator closes with Machiavelli’s personal disappointment: he was trusted by neither the returning republicans nor the Medici and never regained his former office. In exile, he turned to reading and writing—work that outlasted the political relationships that had failed him.

Speakers and sources

• Speaker: A single video narrator or voiceover; no other audible speakers are evident in the subtitles.
• Primary source discussed: Niccolò Machiavelli, especially The Prince. The subtitles also refer to passages from other political writings, but render their titles inconsistently.
• Historical figures discussed: Cesare Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, Pope Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere), Francesco Vettori, Emperor Maximilian, and Rousseau.