The 48 Laws of Power

The 48 Laws of Power is a fascinating, if single-minded book of advice centered around historical examples about how to gain and maintain power using deception, flattery, and strategy. Greene’s model of society is the royal court, with scheming nobles seeking patronage from some central king or queen. Some of the advice is usefully universal: don’t let yourself be driven by emotions like anger or love, manage perceptions of yourself, have a plan but be willing to improvise, avoid certain traps sure to alienate the powerful or the masses.

Greene illuminates his book with hundreds of examples drawn from the ancient world, including Greece, China, and Japan, Medieval and Renaissance courts, and the con artists of Gilded Age America. The trick is translating these examples into a modern corporate environment. Who is the king? How do you crush your enemies? How does power operate in the world of ‘five years out and up?’

The problem with this book is not that the advice is utterly amoral and mercenary, it’s that its conception of Power is very diffuse. Is it wealth, respect, lethal force, or something else? The 48 Laws of Power has solid advice on how to avoid some common traps, but offers surprisingly little guidance towards positive steps that one might take on the road to power.