The 48 Laws Of Power

pearing

to

yield

whileallthe

time

running

circlesaroundthecommittee

with

vagueresponses,outright

liesthatwent

unchallenged

because

they

were

wrapped

in

enigmas,

andword

games.

Intheendhe

kept

thefree-

domtocontinuehis

revolutionarywriting

(as

opposed

to

sufferingimpris

onmentordetainmentintheUnited

States),

evenwhile

subtlymocking

the

committee

andits

authority

withhis

pseudo-obedience.

Keep

inmindthe

following:Peopletrying

tomakeashowoftheirau-

thority

are

easily

deceived

by

thesurrendertactic.Youroutward

sign

of

submissionmakesthemfeel

important;

satisfiedthat

yourespect

them,

they

becomeeasier

targets

foralater

counterattack,

orforthekindofindi»

rectridiculeused

by

Brecht.

Measuringyourpower

over

time,

neversacri-

fice

long-termmaneuverability

fortheshort-lived

glories

of

martyrdom.

Whenthe

great

lord

passes,

thewise

peasant

bows

deeply

and

silentlyfarts.

Ethiopianprozuzllr

KEYST0POWER

What

gets

usintotroubleintherealmof

power

isoftenourownoverreac~

tiontothemovesofourenemiesandrivals.That

overreactioncreates

problems

we

would

have

avoidedhadwebeenmorereasonable.Italso

hasanendlessrebound

effect,

forthe

enemy

thenoverreactsas

well,

much

astheAtheniansdidtotheMelians.Itis

always

ourfirstinstinctto

react,

to

meet

aggression

withsomeotherkindof

aggression.

Butthenexttime

someone

pushesyou

and

you

find

yourselfstarting

to

react,

try

this:Donot

resistor

fight

back,

but

yield,

turn

theother

cheek,

bend.Youwillfindthat

thisoftenneutralizestheir

behavior——theyexpected,

evenwanted

you

to

reactwithforceandso

they

are

caughtofiguard

andconfounded

byyour

lackofresistance.

Byyielding,you

infactcontrolthe

situation,

because

your

surrender

is

part

ofa

largerplan

tolullthem

into

believingthey

have

defeated

you.

Thisistheessenceofthesurrendertactic:

Inwardlyyou

stay

firm,

but

outwardly

you

bend.

Deprived

ofareasonto

getangry,

your

opponents

willoftenbebewilderedinstead.And

they

are

unlikely

toreactwithmore

violence,

which

woulddemanda

reactionfrom

you.

Instead

you

areal

lowedthetime

and

space

to

plot

thecountermovesthatwill

bring

them

down.Inthebattleofthe

intelligentagainst

thebrutalandthe

aggressive,

thesurrendertacticisthe

supreme

weapon.

Itdoes

require

self~control:

Those who

genuinely

surrender

give up

their

freedom,

and

may

be

crushed

by

thehumiliation

oftheirdefeat

Youhavetorememberthat

you

onlyappear

to

surrender,

liketheanimalthat

plays

deadtosaveitshide.

Wehaveseenthatitcanbebettertosurrenderthanto

fight;

facedwith

a.more

powerful

opponent

anda

sure

defeat,

itisoftenalsobettertosur-

renderthantorun

away.Runningawaymay

save

you

forthetime

being,

but the
aggressor

will

eventually

catch

up

with

you. you

surrender

in-

stead,

you

havean

opportunity

tocoil

around

yourenemy

andstrikewith

yourfangs

fromclose

up.

LAW 22

167