Most contemporary politicians hold the view that ends can only be achieved by negotiation and by a Pragmatic take on 'what works'. Consensus leads to the best results for the majority. If that doesn't specifically specifies what is the Good, that is not an accident of nature.
Five Part docu and audio book about Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), an Italian historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. (Wiki)
Officially Pragmatism is rooted in 19th Century America. Unofficially its principles are much older. Machiavelli was a typical Pragmatist. The philosophy of Pragmatism is a rejection of the idea that the function of thought is knowledge of objective reality. Instead, pragmatists consider thought to be a product of the interaction between organism and environment. The function of thought is a tool for prediction, action, and problem solving, not for knowledge of reality as such. According to Pragmatism, philosophical topics — such as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and science — must be seen in terms of their practical uses and successes rather than in terms of accuracy. It leads to a very curious, irrational and amoral world view. This makes it quite dangerous in the hands of the wrong people.
