| abstract | - Bands of heroes are generally held together by The Power of Friendship, Love, or just general loyalty to the hero. Bands of villains tend to be held together by fear of the head villain. Eventually, villains often discover to their surprise that while fear might be easier to establish, love has a lot more staying power. If the villain is especially unlikeable, this can culminate in a Heel Face Turn. The trope name comes, obviously, from the popular reputation of Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince, which is often paraphrased as saying that it is better to rule by fear than by love. People forget an important thing Machiavelli pointed out, however - it is best to be both feared and loved, choosing fear over love only when you can't have both, and that in any event it is vital to avoid being hated, since if you are hated people will be willing to suffer just to oppose you. A huge misunderstanding of this concept is on the part of the Early English translations. Which were Blind Idiot Translations that turned the line "look to the consequences before you act" into "the ends justify the means." Incidentally, it's also worth noting that some scholars think The Prince was a satire of the dictatorship. Often used as part of an Aesop. See also Villainous Demotivator. Contrast Bread and Circuses, which Machiavelli actually supported. It may be because Rousseau Was Right. Examples of Machiavelli Was Wrong include:
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