
Laws of Power: Machiavelli and Sun-Tzu brought up-to-date - RiderOfGiraffes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_48_Laws_of_Power
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eru
Machiavelli itself is not too bad. `The Prince' is remarkably progressive.

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ilconsiglieri
One theory is that Machiavelli wrote The Prince to make the common man aware
of behaviors and practices of powerful people. The same could be said for The
48 Laws of Power.

The books are not necessarily meant to be instructional, but informative about
the economics of power.

I haven't read 48 in some time but I believe Greene says something about
regardless of if you want to participate in power plays you will undoubtedly
find become a part of them so it's best to be aware.

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ankeshk
I actually love this book. History and strategy. You use the tricks that suit
your personality. And become aware of the rest.

I can't compare it with Sun Tzu. Because Sun Tzu is purely metaphorical. You
have to think deep to see the applications.

And Machiavelli, while a pretty good strategy book, is very instructional. I
like 48 Laws of Power a lot better. Its a lot more entertaining with stories,

(Also - if you want a mindfuck, you should read The Prince by Machiavelli and
The Hero by Baltasar Gracian back to back. Both have opposite lessons. But
both will get you nodding your heads while you're reading it. (Baltasar
Gracian apparently wrote The Hero as a response to Machiavelli.))

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thetrumanshow
Or, try "don't be evil"

Edit: Yes, I am suggesting that the 48 Laws of Power are inherently evil.

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anigbrowl
I strongly disagree that they're evil. I have had the book for about a decade,
and while I consider myself a low-power individual - that is, unaggressive in
pursuit of my goals - I've found it a great aid in understanding the dynamics
of many situations, as well as knowing when someone is exercising a power play
against me or trying to manipulate me in some fashion.

Sure, it's not '48 laws of harmony and cooperation'; I think it's a legitimate
authorial technique to challenge the reader and push them out of their comfort
zone - and yet the book is abundant with examples of how greed and hubris can
lead to a sticky end. The book seems to generate strong reactions in a lot of
people, both those like yourself who say it's evil and from others who say
it's too wishy-washy (one hard-charging person I mentioned it to derided it as
'48 laws of brown-nosing'). I wonder if you have read the whole thing? If not,
why not borrow it from the library, saving yourself the emotional conflict
over whether to enrich the author, and give it a full read.

The fact is that it's a competitive world, and attempts to improve upon human
nature often turn out to have serious negative consequences; apparently benign
beliefs such as christianity can become vehicles of horrid repression. Better,
then, to improve the world by securing for yourself the freedom to do so in
peace than by wishing away the facts of life.

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skorgu
Well said. Most problems are actually people problems. Like other problems
having awareness of their nature can help you sort them out when you're in
them and occasionally avoid them before they happen.

The biggest lesson I got from this type of thinking is that people are
surprisingly predictable. I don't know where to draw the line between
recognizing behavioral cues and patterns and manipulating people but at the
least being aware of the potential should help you avoid being manipulated
yourself.

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steveplace
This book has a permanent place on my bathroom bookshelf-- each "law" can be a
quick read and they aren't sequential.

Any practical use should be taken with a grain of salt. The book itself is
more a great study of history and humanities than it is a guide to power.

Of course, I could be saying that to deceive you so I may gain power. Or
something like that.

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jgrahamc
I've read this and it's an interesting book, but it is very, very long and
could really do with an abridged version.

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danparsonson
How about this: [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Concise-48-Laws-
Power/dp/1861974043/...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Concise-48-Laws-
Power/dp/1861974043/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256663323&sr=8-1)

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rphlx
This is a great book but The Art of Seduction is more fun.

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jakarta
don't forget the 50th law!

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_50th_Law>

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steveplace
I'm actually excited about that book. I saw an interview with 50-cent on CNBC
and he know's what he's talking about.

Before you scoff, remember that he was a seed-stage investor in Vitamin Water.
Survivorship bias, but still an interesting point.

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zzzmarcus
a.k.a. The 48 Laws of Unhappiness

