#obviously it wouldn't be a socialist utopia lol

[ducavalentinos]

As for Cesare, the ruthlessness for which he has always been famous is explained, if not excused by the milieu in which he operated, and the character of the enemies with whom he was obliged to contend. If he had been less hard and less relentless, he would not have survived long enough to be remembered, and his place would have been filled by men far worse than himself. That he insisted on surrendering a secure place at the top of the ecclesiastical hierarchy is as plausibly interpreted as testament to his integrity as to anything else, and he transformed himself into such an important figure at such a young age is proof of his immense gifts. And it is fair to ask: If he had achieved his ambitions, establishing himself securely as ruler of a powerful state, in what way would that have been worse for the people of Italy than what they experienced over the centuries after his death? In what way would it have been worse for Europe?

G.J. Meyer - The Borgias