From the source cited below:

1. Machiavelli counseled on the one-man rule (dictatorship) with the intent to maintain a long reign and transfer power to an heir.

2. Machiavelli says that the only real concern of the political ruler is the acquisition and maintenance of power.

3. Only by means of the proper application of power, Machiavelli believes, can individuals be brought to obey and will the ruler be able to maintain the state in safety and security.

4. Machiavelli believes that fear is always preferable to affection in subjects, just as violence and deception are superior to legality in effectively controlling them.

5. Machiavelli believed a political leader must be a person of “virtù”; however, his meaning was not equivalent to the English word “virtue”. He meant a person who is capable of varying her/his conduct from good to evil and back again as fortune and circumstances dictate in order to maintain his power and state. He placed no value on moral or immoral acts; any action that maintained power was a valid and worthwhile action.