In Machiavelli’s view, expedient simplicity is the primary path to political accomplishment and political accomplishment leads to power. Power is the foundation of the good life for Machiavelli and in his view, a prince should be concerned only with power and only by rules that would lead to success in political actions. Machiavelli displays this view of power by saying, "The wish to acquire is in truth very natural and common, and men always …showed first 75 words of 579 total…

…showed last 75 words of 579 total…other reproaches". In Machiavelli’s writing, he was determined to eliminate pretense and examine what he perceived as reality. Before this could be done, he had to develop his political assumption which was based not upon the his own belief. Through his eyes, modern readers have had an opportunity to see the political maneuvering of an age of great deception and not unlike the politics of the world that is moving into the 21st century.