The 48 Laws of Power
by Robert Greene
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Book Reviews of The 48 Laws of Power
Book Review: Fundamentally flawed
Summary: 2 Stars
This book is fundamentally flawed because it offers incorrect advise to its primary audience. Furthermore, the book does not clearly state the premises for using Greene's type of power and obscures the global structure of power. There are many different kinds of power, so this book makes you blind to all other forms of power by focusing exclusively on selfish, cloak-and-dagger power.
A relevant social question is why selfish, cloak-and-dagger power is apparently relevant in our society, or in Machiavelli's era, or in the court of Louis XIV. I would postulate that all three of these cultures share an atmosphere of fog and deception which allows such forms of power to flourish. Specifically, in our culture, mass media and corporate culture encourage such behavior.
If you are interested in having power, you might well ask whether the route outlined in this book is worth following. I believe that those who are submerged in corporate culture or in the business of mass media may find the advice of this book useful for gaining a small constant factor of power within their current organization, however, it is mathematically implausible for the typical person using Greene's method to gain much more power in such a hierarchy. The fundamental limitation to Greene's power is that only so many people can successfully use encompassing webs of deception to rise to the top of a given power structure: if you imagine that the typical corporation or media conglomerate is a binary tree and like most people you are on the bottom of the tree, even if 5% of the people in an organization use Greene's power to "climb" in their hierarchy then you realize that it is mathematically implausible for the average Greene-follower to rise more than one or two levels. Actually, it's statistically impossible to rise more than one or two levels using any strategy, but Greene's is actively dangerous because it may get you in trouble and because the cloud of people using Greene's techniques at the top of any power structure are guaranteed to be far better than you at their "game" -- they've been brought up to be this way, educated since childbirth. As a practical example, my father worked in the technical corporate world for 25 years with many outstanding talents such as Ph.D. MIT graduates and doesn't know a single person who has moved up more than 3 levels in the hierarchy. I suspect that some of these people tried Greene's methods and failed, but really, you don't want to be in the business of fighting an uphill battle against mathematics or statistics. How do you gain power in a corporation starting from the bottom? Mu.
If you are at the bottom of a hierarchy and have talent and wish to gain power then Greene's strategy is the worst strategy you could use in America. To gain power in America starting from nothing, you have to mint it yourself, by working for yourself, or else examine the questions of power and happiness more closely.
When you get down to it, Greene is really offering advice on happiness: he says, "[If you try to opt out of the game], this will only render you powerless, and powerlessness will make you miserable." His whole book is built on this assumption.
But what is happiness?
I believe that Greene follows his own advise rather than answering this question directly and honestly. In other words, he wrote a contentious book that would generate popular sales rather than answering the question plainly. It is a manifest truth that if you start out with stupid assumptions then you will fill your life with garbage and become unhappy. Thomas Jefferson said as much: "All experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."
To be happy requires that you master your insecurities, abolish the social forms which you have grown accustomed to, and gain power over yourself.
Greene dodges the question: he falls into the trap of insecurity and the ability of people to have power over each other; this is equated with happiness. He doesn't talk at all about gaining power over yourself. Greene certainly gives his target audience the answer that they want to hear about lying and cheating in corporations, but he doesn't give the true answer.
To gain power over yourself you need to decouple yourself from the mechanisms that place you in the position of slave. There are lots of ways to do this: stop working, find a job that you truly enjoy, work for yourself. If you increase your income relative to the cost of living then you have also increased your power over yourself. Sometimes you can gain more power over yourself by moving elsewhere and taking a job that pays less, or by taking a job that pays more and is more rewarding. Often if you are simply depressed, you can gain power over yourself by learning to love yourself, and going to therapy.
If you wish to start a high-tech company then I would recommend Paul Graham's or Jessica Livingston's works. If you wish to stop working then you may wish to read the works of Thoreau, D. JoAnne Swanson, or Bob Black. If you wish to gain a handle on how the social mechanisms of power work in our era then read Chomsky or Foucault, or books about the internal structure of mass media. If you want to be sociable by reading Greene's book because it's popular then go ahead, but it will not educate you about having power over yourself, happiness, or the structure of power in the modern world.
Book Review: My Former Bible
Summary: 3 Stars
Only two types of people have been and will be attracted to reading this book: those who hope it's about one thing and those who know it's about the other. The former belong to the timid, powerless, low-self esteem majority looking for the ultimate guide to gaining respect and admiration from their peers. The latter belong to the unscrupulous, dare I say sociopathic ever-growing minority whose end goal is to win at everything against everyone by any means. Once the book has been read and fully digested, one of two conclusions will be reached. The first is a sudden awareness of what a perfectly outstanding tool they hold in their hands and the limitless rewards it can afford them. The second is an absolute disgust and horror at what a dangerous volume this is and the malicious behavior it outright encourages. Interestingly, the timid are not always the ones repulsed and the ruthless are not always the ones aroused. The wave can break either way.
Shortly after this book was published, I happened upon it in a bookstore and knew I had to have it. A blaze of energy electrified my body and pounded through the deepest recesses of my mind. I was on fire, I couldn't put it down and yet I knew I could never share it with anyone, the way a child might hide away their favorite toy. In truth I became obsessed. I had to learn and then master every element of every law and take supreme authority over every aspect of my life. Indeed, this book, The 48 Laws of Power, became my bible, the most passionate conquest I had ever sought to undertake.
Within its pages I met with the reflection of every gruesome bully and every merry manipulator I had ever known. Their power was uncanny and yet so mysterious, mostly because I could never fathom how such apparently absent minds could lay so cool yet strike with such venom. It was awe-inspiring, and I had to come to terms with their secrets. The secrets that earned them respect from their enemies and fear from their admirers. The secrets that won them the most buxom women, who always appeared so entranced by even their rudest and most audacious displays. "How could they get away with everything so smoothly?!" I had wondered. "How could they be so desirable?!" I had thought. "HOW?!"
Well...here is how. It is simple.
Some people are given to a heredity and/or an upbringing that nourishes what is commonly considered 'bad' behavior. Certain genes as well as certain parenting styles perpetuate an attitude of unruliness which leads in its purest variety to utter contempt for anyone else's thoughts, feelings, or needs. Their minds develop without a balanced set of experiences, leading them to deduce that the information they received must indeed be correct. This is also applicable to those who suffer violence in their youth, even if that violence is not carried out physically. The fact remains that whatever world with which one is presented is accepted as unmitigated truth. 'Bad' behavior is usually viewed by such a person as normal. Thus selfishness, cruelty, and manipulation are seen as strengths, while compassion, kindness and humility are seen as weaknesses.
Surely there are a bevy of other factors that cannot go without mention. High intelligence, a pleasing appearance, a particular talent, et cetra can all act as lauchpads for immorality if similar virtues in others go unrecognized as being equal. This sense of equality is what it all comes down to, in fact. The very idea of power assumes that another cannot or should not be in a position to where the perspectives of both can be viewed as equally valid. On the one end is the person who is possessed by their own image, on the other is the person who believes that they have no intrinsic worth at all. The two feed off of each other in a sadistic/masochistic symbiotic relationship. The point then comes to bear that a person who believes himself powerful only remains so long as the other believes the same thing. Put two people who both see power as the ultimate attainment and you have the setting for nearly every meeting in the business world. From here, only two things can happen. One party will cave, allowing the other to dominate, or neither party will cave, effectively precipitating resentment and rage in both. The former leads to a continuation of the cycle while the latter leads to war.
This book is extremely well-researched and exquisitely written, which is why I still give it three stars. But I warn you now to be aware of your true intentions. Buy this book if you don't care about anyone but yourself, and it pleases you to see another man crumble. Do not buy this book if you have even the slightest interest in saving yourself from years of unnecessary struggle. Remember that the wave does break both ways, and you do not know who you may become if you toss your ethics in the wastebasket. Needless to say, I was the timid one who was sick of being overlooked, but in the end, it was this book that I tossed into the wastebasket. Your call.
Book Review: Survive and Thrive In a Competitve World
Summary: 5 Stars
I picked this book up for $1, proof that there is no correlation between cost and value.
This would be the book that Machievelli would have written, had he courted the Aristocracy of his times, rather than attempting to ingratiate the Prince.
The author gives a hint to his motivations for this composition when he states in his acknowledgments:
"Finally, to those people in my life who have so skillfully used the game of power to manipulate, torture and cause me pain over the years, I bear you no grudges and I thank you for supplying me with the inspiration for the 48 Laws of Power."
This book is cathartic. But before diving deeper, a reader should be prepared to entertain the following ideas:
1. A Human being is no more than a sophisticated animal with self-interest as the primary motivator
2. Everyone wants more power, not less
3. Be true to yourself first and foremost, don't be a sucker
4. Power is a game and the better you play, the better your life will be
5. Power is essentially amoral and one of the most important skills to acquire is the ability to see circumstances rather than good or evil
6. To triumph, it is necessary alternate between being both cunning and formless
7. Beyond linear dualities of good and evil, there is a third dimension, the strategists' mind
8. The indirect path, that of influence is more effective and the use of it is an art
If you can live with the above, the 48 laws of power serves as a handbook on the arts of indirection.
This book argues that by mastering ones emotions, understanding the people involved and the fundamental dynamics of interrelationships within society determine the extent of ones accomplishments. Power is ultimately an artificial construct, given legitimacy by the people who participate in the game.
We need power to survive in a competitive world that is constantly seeking to recruit us into the ambitions of others. We can drain our lives in the fulfillment of others, or best use our given life, energy and talents at our own discretion. Implicit to this design is the belief that society defaults a role to you, whether or not that role reflects your beliefs and understanding about yourself. A choice then has to be made on your part to accept such a role or to resist whether in an active or passive way. In the latter sense, one will turn upon themselves. It is better then to assert some degree of control by exercising influence and demonstrating an identity that is consistent with the person whom we feel ourselves to be, in other words, to actualize ones' self. Although this end state transcends any particular identification, characterization or ego, the path to it requires a struggle and this book is about the methods and devices used by successful participants. The good news is, the struggle can be worthwhile, rewarding and the unexpected consequences enlightening.
The perfect archetypical master of the laws of power is the Courtier, who possesses more than anything, a talent to influence. Cognizant of how he is perceived at all times in a socially competitive world, the Courtier is ever vigilant to monitor his own effect, ever mindful of the elusiveness of power. I believe that this is what the author means by the Courtiers mirror.
The core realization is that more than anything, human beings are the most social of animals, so it goes without saying that the most socially adapted animal attains the best that life has to offer. Human beings also possess Consciousness to such a heightened degree, that they can deliberately break and follow a path in defiance to their instincts and conditioned or learned behaviors, unlike animals.
In a paradoxical way, learning to play the game of power teaches virtues of mindfulness, patience and mastering ones ego. In this sense, the book permits another legitimate path to the completion of ones life without blindly accepting a given religion.
Well written, argued and referenced, it is abundantly clear how the author reaches his conclusions. It is highly accessible and well digested for the reader. There is a great deal of truth to the idea that a book serves as a mirror for the reader and I am hard pressed to argue against the wisdom contained in this manual. There is great peace of mind to be had from accepting fundamental truths.
Some would read this book and walk away with the impression that this is a "how to" on manipulation. Beware of such people, as their delusions make them a danger to themselves and anyone who places trust in them. You need not become a con artist to derive benefit from what is contained here. The laws of cause and effect and the aphorism of "Know thyself" are embedded as living proof, ignore them to your peril.
Book Review: An Absolute Masterpiece!! the"worldly"persons' Bible!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This everyday guide to survival instantly became my hands-down favorite book of all time!! Pushing"The Unseen Hand"out of the top spot(that it held for over five years)as my prime reading delicacy!!I've personally used(to great effect)a few of these laws,on my former job(which greatly resembled the courtier conditions oft-discussed in this book!! "Never Outshine the Master"was THE most important Law to implement in the Fire Station!!Law 2(Never put too much trust in Friends,Learn how to use Enemies)is one of my favorite Laws as well as one of the truest.The little passages written in red on the fringes of the pages are great!!The passage about about picking up a bee out of kindness,and the LIMITATIONS of kindness,presents a priceless lesson,to those with a decent amount of understanding,and the African folktale of"The Snake The Farmer and The Heron"rings so very true to me when I consider the MULTITUDE of favors,I did(when I was able)for the very same leeching"friends"who wont lift a finger,to assist me in MY need!!The utter TRUTH of this following passage was permanently"burned"into my memory from the second that I read it:"When you see water flowing UPHILL,someone is repaying a kindness!!"My absolute favorite quote of this(fantastic)book is contained in Law 14"Pose as a friend Work as a spy"this quote involves the famous French politician Talleyrand and his ingenious tactics of duping a person into saying/revealing things about themselves that they would've preferred to remain hidden..Talleyrand had a stupendous method that he employed at political gatherings of"blurting out"FABRICATED"secret"information so he could discern just who may've been planning to do what,by scrutinizing the reaction/facial expression of each individual in attendance,thus identifying who seemed to have a vested interest in whatever contrived"secret"that he let"slip out"..To which Baron von Stetten cleverly stated:"Monsieur Talleyrand fires a pistol into the air to see who will jump out the window!!" Starting today,I am going to begin employing Talleyrands stupendous method on my(dim-witted/treacherous) acquaintances to uncover which particular"snake"is scheming what,as far as MY livelyhood is concerned!! As a frequent target of envy and jealousy,Law 46:("Never Appear Too Perfect")is the most interesting chapter,as far as my life experiences go...This chapter contains a lot of PROFOUND snippets concerning the bane of my very existence:ENVY envy is(profoundly)defined by one philosopher as:"unhappy ADMIRATION" and this great quote:"Envy is the"tax"which all(people of)distinction must pay" "Envy creates"SILENT"enemies" "Of all the disorders of the soul,envy is the ONLY one no one CONFESSES to" "Lord protect me from my(envious)friends,I can handle my enemies"and this accurate and revealing view on envy:"The envious man dies not only once,but as many times as the person he envies lives to hear the voice of praise..The eternity of the envied mans fame is the measure of the envious mans punishment!" "Thus,the jealous man is sentenced to be choked to death,on his own envy!!" I can now clearly see,where I transgressed Law 46 resulting in rancorous feelings towards me,from any people..Had this book been written a couple of decades earlier,I might've been spared a lot of ill-will from multitudes of "mediocre",unremarkable folks!! (The Bible even recognizes the power and wickedness of envy!! Proverbs chapter 27 verse 4 reads:"Wrath is cruel,anger is outrageous,but WHO is able to stand before envy?!?"and Proverbs chapter 14 verse 30 further elaborates on the seriousness of this mental"cancer"that is eating away the peace of far too many people:"A sound heart is the life of the flesh,but envy,the rottenness of the bones...Song Of Solomon chapter 8 verse 6 declares:"jealousy is cruel as the GRAVE" Acts chapter 7 verse 9 gives a chilling example of how INSIDIOUS jealousy will cause you to become:"And the patriarchs,moved with envy,SOLD Joseph into Egypt ) This book even goes as far as to give advice on how to deal with envy:"Once envy reveals itself for what it is,the ONLY solution is often to flee the presence of the(hopelessly incurable)enviers,leaving them to stew in a hell of their own creation!!Also outlined are:indicators/disguises of envy which include:those who laud you with excessive praise...This chapter also advises one to avoid dropping to the jealous mans'level by getting involved in mutual"mudslinging"or of taking their"character assasination" attempts to heart,noting that the BEST revenge is by simply IGNORING their measly/petty presence!!This is a WONDERFUL book,that can help(intelligent)individuals through this("cut-throat")world we currently live in!!EVERYBODY,should own a copy of this book..Book Review: Greene's 48 questionable hypotheses about power
Summary: 3 Stars
The historical examples given for each of the "laws" are interesting enough. But for many of these "laws," equally good examples could be given for following the opposite path. In other words, there's practically no attempt at assuring the validity of the author's arguments. He thinks up a "law" and then finds a historical example or two to "prove" it.
For example:
1) Never outshine the master. Really? Somewhat tongue in cheek: did George Bush's diligent pursuit of this law make him the most respected and powerful President in history? Stars in every field usually outshine their teachers and masters; it's a question of when, not "never."
2) Never put much trust in friends . . . use (your) enemies. Really? How many top performing enterprises are filled with back-stabbing enemies as compared to colleagues pursuing shared objectives? Along the same lines, even successful criminal enterprises rely on bonds of family and friends.
3) Conceal your intentions. Really? Haven't some of the most effective leaders in history been known for clearly articulating a vision. Consider Lincoln, Churchill, most successful entrepreneurs etc. These folks stated their intentions clearly -- and created commitment to their cause.
4) Always say less than necessary. Really? This is a sort of corollary to concealing intentions -- where leaders conceal their thoughts. It may work in the case where idiots have risen to power and hope to conserve it. However, many successful leaders manage to say at least as much as NECESSARY. To test this "law" imagine successful leaders from the past -- and then take away every clear observation or rousing speech they made along the way. Even someone like Yogi Berra -- who always seemed to say more than was necessary -- would not have been a more successful coach had he been mute.
Similar counter-examples can be given for most of Greene's "laws" -- so this isn't just ugly advice for anyone who hopes to live in a relatively free society, it's not even good advice.
To give just a few more examples:
11) Learn to keep people dependent upon you. Really? Aren't the highest performing organizations those where people take independent action in pursuit of shared objectives?
15) Crush your enemy totally. Really? Was crushing Germany after WWI a great idea to secure a lasting peace? There's equally strong evidence that lending your enemy a hand after defeat makes better sense. For example: the Marshall plan in Europe or MacArthur's reconstruction work in Japan. Reaching back a bit further, the Mughal empire was know for a conciliatory stance after winning its wars of expansion.
33) Master the art of timing. And how does one do this? This advice is the equivalent of saying "to make billions in the stock market, buy low and sell high." It's empty advice -- timing depends upon predicting the future -- and Greene doesn't have a crystal ball for that.
37) Create compelling spectacles. Really? Like the auto executives who took private planes to Washington? Sometimes the most compelling spectacle is the lack thereof. When Amazon.com started, analysts commented favorably on the austerity of the offices. In relatively free societies, spectacle is just as likely to foster disrespect as awe and obedience.
47) Do not go past the mark . . . learn when to stop. This is another of the "duh" pieces of Greene's advice. The trick is knowing where the mark is. The first President Bush apparently stopped short of the mark in Iraq. The second President Bush apparently went past the mark. Was the right answer to wage war just 100 miles inside the border of Iraq? Ditto the current situation between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The way we know the "right" place to stop is in retrospect. Like many of the laws, this can be rephrased "roll the dice in attacking, hope you're lucky, and pretend that your own action and foresight caused whatever spoils may happen your way. Then, Robert Greene will write the retrospective review.
In summary, the book has an ugly tone -- which may or may not appeal to those aspiring to absolute power over others. The historical examples are interesting enough. But for virtually every "law" there are counter-factual examples that suggest a nearly opposite guiding principle to achieve lasting influence and power.