Beasts Wearing Moral Masks

Humans are pretending to be civilized, moral and good. But at the heart of every human soul

is a beast, an animal that only wants what it wants. We act like we care about right and

wrong. We follow rules, show kindness, practice virtue. But that's just

a thin shell. Underneath. We're animals focused on getting our desires met.

The morality we display is just performance. Macchiavelli says we should drop the

act, except when the act serves us. If being gentle gets you ahead,

be gentle. If seeming trustworthy opens doors, seem trustworthy but never actually

become these things. The point isn't to be good, it's to be effective, to use whatever