Podbit · Dwarkesh Podcast

Ada Palmer – Machiavelli is the most misunderstood thinker of all time

Explore episode Jun 16, 2026

History

Original Ideas Had to Be Disguised as Ancient Commentary

Ada Palmer – Machiavelli is the most misunderstood thinker … · Jun 16, 2026 History

In the Renaissance, original ideas were out of fashion. If you wanted people to take your thought seriously, you dressed it up as Livy or Plato — even if you were attributing things to Aristotle that Aristotle never said. The Discourses on Livy is where Machiavelli's most radical political innovations are hidden, precisely because it had a bigger audience than an original work.

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