Quote · Dwarkesh Podcast
Ada Palmer – Machiavelli is the most misunderstood thinker of all time
Where this was said
Why popes became warlords
At 36:03 · chapter starts 23:58
Ada Palmer explains how geographic proximity made Italians see popes as ordinary power-hungry men. Wealth accumulation, prisoner's dilemma dynamics, and generational corruption drove the papacy toward militarism. [1] — Ada Palmer "Every generation left wealth to the church. Wealthier church meant more political power. More power meant more incentive for ambitious fami…" 33:20
Every generation left wealth to the church. Wealthier church meant more political power. More power meant more incentive for ambitious families to buy their sons into it — right down to Machiavelli's family debating the right-sized bribe for his brother's priesthood. The papacy wasn't corrupted by bad people; it was corrupted by a structural trap nobody could escape.
