In Grendel, John Gardner presents the character of Red Horse, an anarchist and mentor of Hrothulf, King Hrothgarʼs nephew. He views politics as an inherently evil institution. The ideas he represents resonate with Machiavellian thought, as he believes that politics necessitates the violation of moral principles, politicians will do anything in the pursuit of power, and order can be maintained by instilling fear in the people.

In the game of politics, moral principles will be thrown out of the window. The “right thing” to do becomes whatever it takes to maintain a strong nation. Red Horse presents the idea that “an extraordinary push of circumstance” will push the boundaries of “legality.” In other words, extraordinary circumstances, such as wars, enable the abuse of power. The expansion of power may violate individual liberties—which is an immoral thing to do—but thatʼs just the natural course of things following an event of extreme disturbance like wars. These extraordinary circumstances will even “transvaluation of the ordinary values,” turning even the most “criminal acts” to “heroic . . . deeds.” Killing becomes an acceptable and even honorable thing. Red Horse further claims that the issue of morality is completely disregarded, as politics is merely “pitting power against power.” In Red Horseʼs view, as much as leaders like Hrothgar may claim to be benevolent and that everything they do is for the people, the reality is that moral debates are often completely separated from politics. This resonates with Machievaliʼs belief that politicians are justified to violate certain moral principles to do whatever it takes to hold onto power and be successful. The decisions made are not backed by moral justifications.

Red Horse believes that in the pursuit of power, politicians will do whatever it takes to acquire and maintain power, whether it be rewarding “people who fit the System best” or “jail[ing]” and sending opponents “out to war.” Rewarding your allies and oppressing dissidents, this behavior resonates with Machiavellian thought that in the pursuit of power, anything a politician does is fair game because the end justifies the means. It also resonates with the idea oa realpolitik, that politics is about doing the practical thing. If jailing your opponents is the way to maintain order in the state, then so be it. Red Horse claims that politicians who follow similar lines of thinking are also hypocrites, as a kingdom that “pretend[s] to” act in the interest “of the community,” in reality is only there to “protect the power of the people in power.”

The number one goal of politicians is to maintain order, as without order comes revolutions and coups, upon which they will lose power. Red Horse presents the idea that order and stability can be achieved by instilling fear among the people. He believes that this can be done by “regulating” the society and establishing the “power of the state” as “above society.” This further resonates with the Machiavellian belief that the end justifies the means and that the government is the sole authority of society. If the end goal is to maintain order, the politicians must do whatever it takes, even if it means oppression of the people. But Red Horse also warns that a ruler must “satisfy the greed of the majority” because otherwise, they will become “alarmed” at the “brutality” of the government. This reflects the Machiavellian thought that itʼs better to be feared than loved, hence why people should be kept in a state of fear from the retaliation of a regime that controls all aspects of society. However, the minimum satisfaction of the people should also be satisfied, such as the basic need for food and shelter, because otherwise people will notice and they will revolt.

Red Horseʼs deep skepticism of the government under the rule of Hrothgar and his stance as an anarchist whoʼs willing to overthrow the government in the name of justice begins to make a lot more sense with his claim that politics, which at the core is driven by the pursuit of power of individuals, encourages and even necessitates immoral actions. By this definition, all governments are inherently evil.