The 48 laws of power is a guidebook for those on a quest for power. Think kings and queens, and you have the aura that this book aims to provide you with. This book is for anyone who demands an ultimate, or an operative position in hierarchy. Someone who wants, by definition, the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events.
This article is a summary of the book, the concise 48 laws of power. With the laws explained and objectified here, I scrutinize the morality and accuracy of these laws- analysing them in front of you.
This blog will present to you the 48 laws of power by Robert Greene, made concise by Joost Elffers. It will brief you over the law’s implicit meaning, its justification, and how the law can be put into place. It will also question the morality and accuracy of each law, leaving you with the choice of enacting the law or discarding it.This blog post covers only the first six laws, designed to not overwhelm you with information and to allow you the space to think about these laws for a recommended 24 hours to choose to pick up or leave behind these laws in different parts of your life, before we move to the next six laws.
- Never outshine the master: Never seem superior in ability to those in power. By doing this, you are likely to be promoted and less likely to be replaced by someone dumber. To do this, seem like you need the advice of your superior, or that your advice is his echoed. Conceal your best qualities in order to make sure he feels empowered around you.
Analysis: Never seem better than your superior. However, concealing your best qualities around the master might fail to get you promoted. This law only works with terribly insecure superiors. Morally, it practices humility but it should not affect your own affirmation in your abilities. Practice this law if you know your superior is secure, and your competition defeatable in the long run.
- Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies: According to Elffers’ version of the book, ‘the key to power is the ability to judge who is best able to further your interests in all situations.’ These people are usually not your friends, who may be incompetent or more likely, liars- because lies help keep relationships intact. Everyone hates being indebted, so hiring a friend could breed treachery in the long run. Enemies are also more likely to be competent and loyal because they have more to prove- hire them. This brings up another strong conclusion, ALWAYS know who your enemies are.
Analysis: This law implies that you must never involve friends in business. I believe this is a law to live by for everyone. Friendships can turn disastrous when there’s a hierarchy involved after, very rarely does this go well. Enemies need to earn your trust if they want this alliance to work. Also, they are usually strong because of their competitiveness. Hire them, and treat them as though you would treat a friend.
- Conceal your intentions: Gatekeeping your goals is a strategy to avoid suspicion, which will allow you to plan without external hindrances. Your goals, whether that be provoking a revolution or enhancing power, might offend the wider community too, not just your competitors. Later on, these goals can still be accomplished with little to no lashback as law 32 will explain. For now, there are two ways to gatekeep your goals. You can maintain the poker face, or you can fake desires. A third alternative is boring those around you with the all familiar goals they are aware of, especially if your goals are very different.
Analysis: Make sure your goals and aspirations remain secret. This could be a helpful tactic, especially if your goals seem ‘out of your league’ to preserve your dignity. Some things are too surprising to share. Other than that though, studies have shown that presenting your goals to a larger media raises the stakes- making it more likely that you stay committed to progress. I believe this law only largely references concealing intentions that your audience might clearly dislike. In that case, if your goals align with the community’s approved progress, you must still be careful of your opponents and the tactics they may play when they find out your intentions.
- Always say less than necessary: This law explains how being selective about the things you say to not reveal too much information but just enough can give you an air of mysteriousness which translates to power, and make you seem simply intelligent. You are less likely to say something stupid or dangerous. This also allows you to understand people’s intentions when you let them spurt instead of yourself. If you’re a sarcastic person, this strategy is a good one for you because sarcasm often offends enemies.
Analysis: This law helps you intimidate without much effort. It is quite useful, and seems accurate. It also helps build an aura and image which is enough to back down a lot of potential enemies and lashback.
- So much depends on reputation, guard it with your life: In relation to the previous law, this law explains how your clothes, gestures, words, and actions can completely dictate people’s perceptions of you- regardless of your intentions. This defines the power you will attain. How do you build an insuperable reputation then? The key is building your reputation slowly but firmly. It is about maintaining confidence in who you want to be perceived as and smothering any opposing rumors that arise. A solid reputation is easy to turn to fact. One way to destroy an opponent is to subtly destroy his reputation, through satire or ridicule.
Analysis: This law tells you to carve yourself an undefeatable reputation. Truly, a lot of your power is sourced from the way people perceive you, and hence trust you as someone strong and accountable. That is what gives you power.
- Court attention at all costs: This law tells you to stand out at all costs. Being strange is the preferred way to court attention in this case, most probably to still seem inferior to the master and your competitors as described in law 1. Being the center of attention demands that you never get forgotten, and this itself gives you power when people can’t stop thinking about you. People with power naturally court attention, so how do you do it if you don’t have power? The key is to be creative and vigilant- to be seen. Being unpredictable gains you respect and attention. One way to do this is to occasionally slander the powerful.
Analysis: Try to be in the spotlight. This will help you gain influence and hence power in the long run. Besides that, all publicity is good publicity, but be careful of who you intimidate. Slandering the powerful is a risky game.
That concludes the first six laws of power. I found the laws explained up till now quite beneficial, besides a few contradictions, they are all laws that can and should be adapted by those seeking power. The next six laws will be uploaded soon.
The next book that shall be summarised and analysed is The Diary Of A CEO by Steven Bartlett, looking forward to writing about that epic.