Ibrahim Mukhtar

One of Viroli’s aims is to refute the common perception that Machiavelli was a ‘teacher of evil’ who knew nothing about democracy or liberty. The author argues that Machiavelli, who he often refers to as ‘Our Counselor,’ was in fact a political thinker who was honest, believed in the principles of liberty and the common good, and who sincerely loved his country. Viroli divides the book into twenty lessons, each lesson presented as a chapter on its own.