Machiavellianism: Niccolo Machiavelli was born in 1469 in Florence, Italy to a noble family. Her father was a lawyer. At the end of his studies, he held important positions in the Department of Foreign Relations and acquired a deep knowledge of the state. Machiavelli's state philosophy was materialistic. He mentions his philosophy in two books , The Prince and Discourse . He thought that the ruler should always aim to instill fear in the minds of the people, no matter how cruel , cunning or deceitful they may be. Machiavelli tells his ruler to embrace the means of deception , hypocrisy and cruelty by sacrificing love , affection , kindness and generosity . This is why Machiavellianism / Machiavellian is called the ' father ' of the history of modern state thought .