Robert Greene's book, The 48 Laws of Power, is a moral minefield to read, the sort of how-to book I hope to never follow. If it were named The Satanic Bible instead, nothing in its pages would surprise you. I could also be subtitled: The Sociopaths' Handbook. I've noted before that power in human affairs can be defined as the ability to get people to do your will.
Greene's complete bibliography includes:
1998 The 48 Laws of Power (with Joost Elffers)
2001 The Art of Seduction
2006 The 33 Strategies of War
2009 The 50th Law (with 50 Cent)
2012 Mastery
2018 The Laws of Human Nature
As you could see, Greene's focus is on the morally borderline, but important qualities in human relations. Obviously, he's a student of social philosophy, I don't have a better term for it. He's extremely well-read and has a BS degree in Classical Studies.
For those of us with normal brains, and/or moral principles, it's an important read 48LoP just for defense against life's power players. It will educate you on how people gain power, and you'll be able to recognize a slew of deceptive and unfair methods. The 48LoP are useful in con-games, politics, business, just about everything. They've also been employed in every type of society, every type of government. It even applies to Siths, as the first law is, "Never outshine the master."*
Greene gives diverse, exhaustive, historical examples of from many times and many cultures, and even from fiction. He breaks his examples down into "Observance of the Law," "Transgression of the Law," and even "Reversal of the Law," to cite situations when there are exceptions are called for. A few of his laws don't allow any exceptions, such as "guard your reputation with your life," which he says are so important there are no times when a reversal is recommended.
The book has affected the way I look a politicians. I hadn't read too deeply into it in 2016, but the little I had read helped me predict Donald Trump's election and his actions in office. I could see that the president-- who isn't a reader and isn't very bright--has some laws that he follows reliably. He observes them either by instinct, or maybe by advice from his father. They've served his him in his rise to power very well. Yet, there are many he breaks that are now going to cause his downfall.
Greene's complete bibliography includes:
1998 The 48 Laws of Power (with Joost Elffers)
2001 The Art of Seduction
2006 The 33 Strategies of War
2009 The 50th Law (with 50 Cent)
2012 Mastery
2018 The Laws of Human Nature
As you could see, Greene's focus is on the morally borderline, but important qualities in human relations. Obviously, he's a student of social philosophy, I don't have a better term for it. He's extremely well-read and has a BS degree in Classical Studies.
For those of us with normal brains, and/or moral principles, it's an important read 48LoP just for defense against life's power players. It will educate you on how people gain power, and you'll be able to recognize a slew of deceptive and unfair methods. The 48LoP are useful in con-games, politics, business, just about everything. They've also been employed in every type of society, every type of government. It even applies to Siths, as the first law is, "Never outshine the master."*
Greene gives diverse, exhaustive, historical examples of from many times and many cultures, and even from fiction. He breaks his examples down into "Observance of the Law," "Transgression of the Law," and even "Reversal of the Law," to cite situations when there are exceptions are called for. A few of his laws don't allow any exceptions, such as "guard your reputation with your life," which he says are so important there are no times when a reversal is recommended.
The book has affected the way I look a politicians. I hadn't read too deeply into it in 2016, but the little I had read helped me predict Donald Trump's election and his actions in office. I could see that the president-- who isn't a reader and isn't very bright--has some laws that he follows reliably. He observes them either by instinct, or maybe by advice from his father. They've served his him in his rise to power very well. Yet, there are many he breaks that are now going to cause his downfall.
A few of the more nefarious laws are as follows:
Law 4: Always say less than necessary.
Law 6: Court attention at all cost.
Law 10: Infection: avoid the unhappy and unlucky.
Law 12: Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim.
Law 15: Crush your enemy totally.
Law 17: Keep others in suspended terror: cultivate an air of unpredictability.
Law 26: Keep your hands clean.
Law 33: Discover each man’s thumbscrew.
Law 37: Create compelling spectacles.
Law 42: Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter
As you can tell, these laws are most applicable in dictatorships and organized crime.
I believe any problem Greene's approach to the understanding the methods of power wouldn't be due to his scholarship. It can possibly be in his organizing discernible, teachable, laws from the historical chaos and noise of human relations.
His amoral approach sometimes appalls and sometimes outrages me, (And watch out for the people who don't respond that way) but it also fascinates me. And it will likely do the same for most serious readers.
If you need the comfort, you could assure yourself that the book must be an elaborate joke. Or you could just be outraged and put it down. However, then you 'll also live in fear that somebody else has read it.
*Master is meant with the broadest meaning for cultures and situations. A more accurate term now would usually be "superior."
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