#readwise # The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene  ## Metadata - Author: [[Shortform]], [[Robert Greene]] - Full Title: The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene - Full text: [[Shortform Summary - The 48 Laws of Power.pdf]] - Genres: [[Nonfiction]], [[Psychology]], [[Self Help]], [[Business]], [[Philosophy]], [[History]], [[Politics]], [[Personal Development]], [[Leadership]] - URL: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1303.The_48_Laws_of_Power ## Highlights - People can’t stand to be powerless. Everyone wants power and is always trying to get more. Striving for and wielding power is a game everyone participates in, whether they want to or not. You’re either a power player or a pawn someone else is playing with. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/0a8127aa-9e2b-41e0-b61f-7e39061df2df)) - In The 48 Laws of Power Robert Greene contends that since you can’t opt out of the game of power, you’re better off becoming a master player by learning the rules and strategies practiced since ancient times. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/d5034a56-b5cf-4973-a5b2-205436066bb1)) - Greene argues that following the 48 laws will generally increase your power, while failing to follow them will decrease it ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/76b11f9e-2779-4629-b6db-6b8d3cf01bc5)) - Many of the laws originated or were exemplified in the aristocratic courts of old Europe, where a bevy of courtiers jockeyed for influence around a powerful person. ... Courtiers served the king while scheming to increase their power, defend it from others, and keep others from undermining or surpassing them. They appeared civilized and refined, but were ruthless and ambitious beneath the surface. At the same time they had to be subtle: Courtiers sought power by sucking up to the king, but if they got too obvious about it, their peers (who had the same goal) would turn on them. - Staying on top and increasing your power required strategy and tactics, but at the heart of the game lay an essential skill — deception, which was employed in myriad ways. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/60468308-badd-41e9-abeb-6d10de3e8a9a)) - But wielding power is a double-edged sword. It’s a vital asset, but appearing too power-hungry or being too blatant in using power could be fatal to you, or at least to your ambitions and status. You must create a facade of appearing fair and decent, but behind it you must be cunning and ruthless. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/afee903e-45ef-473b-817f-b17b8b123e8e)) - Everyone wants power over people and events, and always tries to get more. No one likes feeling powerless. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/bc378071-6b8d-4850-99cd-fc27cab7ae51)) - You can learn to play the game of power by studying how it was played in the Old World aristocratic courts that surrounded a powerful person — the rules are much the same today. In those days everyone schemed for power. Underlings served a king or master, but at the same time sought their own power by sucking up. If they got too obvious about it, however, their peers (who had the same goal) would turn on them. On the surface, everyone had to seem civilized and refined. So winning the king’s favor required being subtle while also watching out for, and thwarting, others’ scheming to oust you. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/5ccee801-bdd6-42e0-8282-dec782a623d6)) - The game of power is the same today. You must appear fair and civilized, without applying those principles literally. If you were to behave in a truly fair and democratic way, you’d be crushed by others who understand the reality of wielding power: Respect the niceties but do whatever is necessary to deceive and outmaneuver everyone else. (As Niccolo Machiavelli said: “Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good.”) ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/17aa1ba0-0d5e-4017-b138-e9ced4b38bc7)) - Those most successful at playing the game manipulate others to do their bidding without the others’ recognizing it. And since they don’t realize it, they don’t resent or resist it. Some people find the notion of consciously playing power games, even indirectly, off-putting — they see it as evil or immoral, a vestige of the past. But whether you intentionally participate or not, you’re still part of the game. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/8200dbba-27be-4084-9892-cd6fd95957ea)) - Advocating equality in everything. To tout your moral superiority, you claim everyone should be treated the same way. But in reality you must treat people differently because some people do some things better than others. Ignoring differences would mean boosting the less skillful and suppressing those who excel, which no one really does. In fact, you’re probably using another power play: manipulating people by (unequally) choosing whom to reward. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/9a241908-b474-4892-ad61-edc5805929fd)) - There’s no point in trying to opt out of the power game. You’ll only end up with less power and you’ll be miserable. Rather than resisting the inevitable or feeling guilty, it’s better to be a master player of the power game. The better you are at dealing with power, the better a person you become. You’ll give others pleasure and make them feel better about themselves. In addition, they’ll want to be around you (we like to bask in the glow of powerful people) and will come to depend on your abilities. By mastering the 48 Laws, you’ll spare others the pain of playing the game badly by taking control from them. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/c07647b9-4a2f-4ebe-bce6-5108fe766724)) - Forget Good and Evil View circumstances neutrally rather than as good or evil. Power is amoral. It’s a game. When engaged in a game of strategy, judge others by the effect of their actions, not by their intentions. Judge their strategy and power by what you can see and intuit; don’t get caught up in making moral judgments. Don’t take anything personally — it’s a game. Play with a strategy and calmly note your opponent’s moves, their outcomes, and the circumstances. Don’t be distracted by anything else. Important note: What you don’t do, and don’t allow yourself to be pulled into, are as important as what you do. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/05bb5d0f-8386-4279-9ccf-a97850430564))