In 1515, Machiavelli stated that it would be better for the Prince to be feared than loved. Some 500 years later, Michael Hardt, political philosopher and coauthor of Empire, Multitude, and Commonwealth, asks what it would mean to base a political system on love rather than fear. In Johan Grimonprez’s film, he further elaborates on the notion of the “commons” and the ongoing struggle to re-invent democracy. Hardt’s statements are intercut with scenes from Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 film Alphaville, set in a dystopian city-state where all words and concepts relating to love and affection are banned.