Earth & Sky

Machiavellian monkeys scheme for dominance

Monkeys are taking a cue from Machiavelli, the 15th century Italian political philosopher who famously said, “The ends justify the means.” according to Dario Maestripieri at the University of Chicago.

Maestripieri is the author of Macachiavellian Intelligence: How Rhesus Macaques and Humans Have Conquered the World.

Rhesus macaques are small monkeys that live in groups of about 50. Their social lives are ruled by a strong dominance hierarchy, in which each monkey is constantly scheming to gain power. Maestripieri said that macaques won’t hesitate to attack weaker members of their group, or take advantage of situations where they’ll benefit and others will suffer. They’ll try to form alliances with higher ranking macaques and intimidate lower-ranking ones.

This behavior bears some resemblance to our own human society and relationships. Just as we monitor the relationships around us, rhesus macaques will watch and remember who’s friends, who’s been in a fight, and who’s mating. They’ll use this knowledge to try and navigate their way through the social structure.

So it seems the ends justify the means for primates, too – and macaques don’t even have to read the book.

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3 Comments for Machiavellian monkeys scheme for dominance

1. 1

   Nov 12, 02:18 AM #

   Kent says:

   This story is about” The ends justify the means.”
   Macaque is a kind of small monkey. They often live in a group about 50. In their society, they have a strong dominant hierarchy. Characteristics of this kind of monkey are scheming to gain power, won’t hesitate to attack weak members, taking advantages of situation where others will suffer, and remembering who is a friend or who is en enemy. Overall, their behaviors just like humankind.

2. 2

   Nov 12, 02:34 AM #

   Timo Laine says:

   In fact, Machiavelli never writes that the ends justify the means.

3. 3

   Nov 12, 10:52 AM #

   Jackie says:

   These Rhesus Macaques are like the Sicilian Mafia.

   I wonder if this study will lead to newer studies with other monkeys and apes. It certainly sounds groundbreaking to me.