Ends Justify the Means Quotes

Intelligence work has one moral law—it is justified by results.

What's distinctively shocking about Machiavelli is that he didn't care. He believed not only that politicians must do evil in the name of the public good, but also that they shouldn't worry about it. He was unconcerned, in other words, with what modern thinkers call 'the problem of dirty hands.'

The ends justifies the means.

Who wills the ends must not shrink from the means.

Machiavelli, however, took his bearings from people as they are. He defined the political project as making the best of this flawed material. He knew (in words Kant would write almost three centuries later) that nothing straight would be made from the crooked timber of humanity.

One must consider the final result

We aren't the good guys, Anita. We're the necessary guys. -Edward

Sometimes you have to do bad things to get into power so you can do good things when you get there.

Intentions don't matter. It's the end result we're all judged by. Evil in the name of good is still evil. And when you dance with the devil, you seldom get to pick the tune.