The 48 Laws Of Power

In the acknowledgements to his book, Greene refers to “the timelessness of Machiavelli,” the author of the 1513 guide to power, The Prince (9). A diplomat and a historian, Machiavelli was also an official in the Florentine republic. His book, which imagines how a new prince can claim and maintain power, was inspired by the strategies he witnessed firsthand at court, such as those of his contemporary Cesare Borgia. Over time, Machiavelli has become infamous for his promotion of ruthless tactics which ensure that one person profits at the expense of others. To this day, the epithet Machiavellian denotes a person who will play underhanded power games and stop at nothing to get what they want. Greene’s amoral stance has caused those in the media to dub him a modern Machiavellian.

Machiavelli crops up often in Greene’s laws, offering advice that is less socially acceptable by modern standards, but ensures a timeless hold on power. For example, Greene cites Machiavelli in the law that it is essential to keep people dependent on you, reminding the reader that “it is better to be feared than loved. Fear you can control; love, never” (179). Here, Machiavelli’s advice flies in the face of the ideals of the modern self-help movement, while Greene reminds us that love can be “subtle and changeable” and so unlike fear, does nothing to maintain the security of your position (179). Greene’s stance that there is no alternative to playing by the laws of power and that it is futile to wish for a more peaceful ideal also stems from Machiavelli, who claimed that “the prophet who preaches and brings change can only survive by taking up arms” and therefore use force to maintain his revolution (712).

Baldassare Castiglione was an Italian courtier, diplomat, and soldier. He was most famous for his 1528 publication, The Book of the Courtier, a treatise on how to adopt the veneer of nobility and so thrive in the atmosphere of a court, where appearances are everything.

Greene maintains that human nature and power structures have not substantially changed since Castiglione’s time and that we still need to possess the subtlety and social graces of Renaissance courtiers if we are to have influence over others. Castiglione features most prominently in Greene’s 30th law that accomplishments should seem effortless. Castiglione’s notion of “sprezzatura, the capacity to make the difficult seem easy” is essential to having one’s talents overestimated by others and so gain power (450).

While the courtiers of Castiglione’s time performed sophisticated feats, they always maintained the appearance that it came naturally to them. This made them seem akin to gods or forces of nature, provoking awe in bystanders. While Castiglione’s injunction goes against the modern trend for exhibiting and even boasting about hard work, Greene maintains that revealing “the inner workings of your creation” diminishes your intelligence in the eyes of others (451). They think you are mortal just like them and what is equal can never be more powerful.

Louis XIV ascended to the French throne in 1654 and was so powerful and majestic that he came to be known as the Sun King. He ruled as an autocrat, and his reign represented the height of Bourbon monarchic power.

Louis XIV is a frequently recurring character in Greene’s book, as he devoted much of his life to magnifying his own power. He expertly fulfilled Greene’s 41st law, of avoiding stepping into a great man’s shoes despite being the inheritor of immense privilege; he sought to distinguish himself from his forbears by rejecting his ancestral home the Louvre and building a new palace, Versailles. Greene explains how Louis XIV built Versailles “in what was then the middle of nowhere, symbolizing that this was a new order he had founded, one without precedent” (628). Versailles, which was the most lavish court in Europe and attended by the “most brilliant minds of the age” meant that Louis XIV became incomparable, and following his death, some became so reliant on him being around that they imagined France would go to ruin without him (628).

In addition to magnifying his own power, Louis XIV also figures as someone who thwarted the power of others. In the first law, Greene warns his readers to not outshine their masters by citing the example of Louis XIV’s finance minister, Nicolas Fouquet. Louis XIV felt threatened by Fouquet’s charisma and ingenuity, viewing it as a threat to his own. As a result, when Fouquet hosted a party at his newly completed château, featuring a glittering guest-list and a seven-course dinner with incomparable foods, Louis XIV found an excuse to have Fouquet arrested and imprisoned, while he used Fouquet’s architects and designers to build Versailles.

As Louis XIV was the more powerful figure in the social hierarchy, Fouquet’s ostentatious efforts to impress Louis backfired as the “elaborate party offended the king’s vanity” (38), and he banished Fouquet to a place where he could never outshine Louis again. Here, Greene offers no apology for Louis’ behavior, only stating it as an extreme example of how ruthless the powerful can be with those who appear to be trying to beat them at their own game.