A brass balance scale with a small wooden bridge on the lower pan and a pile of sawdust and tools on the higher pan.

Original artwork, not a still

Niccolò Machiavelli

In judging policies we should consider the results that have been achieved through them rather than the means by which they have been executed.

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What it means

Our interpretation.

This is a pragmatic way to judge a policy: look at what it actually achieved instead of how it was carried out. Methods drop out of the scoring and outcomes decide. It's a blunt view that treats ends as the measure of success.

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