A major focus of disagreement in political thought concerns Macchiavelli's statement that the ends justify the means. I seek to solve this issue.
People are responsible for what they do; and that means both the ends and the means. Wrongful ends or wrongful means become judgeable. Doing wrong things, or doing things for wrong purposes, result in wrong things done. Which means that both the ends and the means matter.
Hitler and Stalin were both horrendous despots whose means were equally abhorrent. However Hitler is generally hated more than is Stalin, because his ends – killing the Jews and enslaving everyone else – were worse than Stalin's ends – creating a worker's utopia. This shows that ends matter.
However so do the means. Stalin and Khruschev both had the same ends; but their means differed greatly. Khruschev is seen as a much better person than Stalin, because his means were much more humane.
Do the ends justify the means? No. Both the ends and the means are part of one's behavior, and one will be judged on both. It is important to have the right goal, and it is important to behave rightfully in pursuit of that right goal. Both the ends and the means matter, and both need to be the best that they can be.