Answered from Thomas More's Utopia · In Our Time · 2026-10-15
The panel says the order runs the other way: Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513, before Utopia appeared in 1516. Both books sit in the same debate rooted in Cicero's De Officiis about whether the best ruler is a virtuous one. Machiavelli said it is often better not to be virtuous, and Utopia's tactics in war, from assassination to bribing traitors, look Machiavellian while serving the virtuous aim of ending wars quickly.
Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on In Our Time (2026-10-15). Read the whole episode summary →