while the Machiavellian leader may invoke spiritual or religious values, he will do so by simply endorsing them as a useful means to his rule, without acknowledging their instrinsic worth. The argument could be extended to those principles — including principles of a higher order — which are used simply as ‘myths’ within the framework of totalitarian dictatorships, which is to say through formulations that enable them to stir or channel the irrational forces of the masses.
