“Men change their rulers willingly, hoping to better themselves.”Niccolò Machiavelli · Principele · 1532 · capitolul III
The hope for improvement makes people change rulers, even though the new regime may be just as bad.
Machiavelli points to a basic human tendency: discontent with the present fuels the illusion that any change brings gain. This hope is often naive, because the new master can be just as harsh or even worse. A classic example is a people who support a coup believing it will end poverty, only to find the new dictator plunders them even more.
Machiavelli says hope for a better future makes us forget the lessons of the past. When a new politician promises prosperity, we quickly forget how often we have heard the same words before. For example, your neighbor enthusiastically votes for a candidate who promises jobs, even though the same man has already bankrupted two companies. Hope is not the problem, but the lack of verification. The next step is to understand why this blindness repeats itself with every change of leader.
Why it matters Today this insight helps you stay skeptical of political promises and judge a new leader by deeds, not hopes. It is also useful in your career when you leave a difficult boss for another you know nothing about.