The 48 Laws Of Power

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LAW 40

MONEYANDPOWER

In

therealm

of

power,everything

mustbe

judgedby

its

cost,

and

every-

thing

hasa

price.

Whatisofferedforfreeorat

bargain

ratesoftencomes

witha.

psychologicalpn’ce

tag—-complicated

feelings

of

obligation,

com-

promises

with

quality,

the

insecurity

those

compromisesbring,

onandon.

The

powerful

learn

early

to

protect

theirmostvaluableresources:

indepen-

denceandroomtomaneuver.

Bypaying

thefull

price,theykeep

them-

selvesfreeof

dangerousentanglements

andworries.

Beingopen

andflexiblewith

money

alsoteachesthevalueof

strategic

generosity,

avariationontheoldtrickof

“giving

when

you

areaboutto

take.”

Bygiving

the

appropriategift,youput

the

recipient

under

obliga-

tion.

Generosity

softens

peopleup——to

bedeceived.

Bygaining

a

reputa-

tion

for

liberality,you

win

people’:

admirationwhile

distracting

themfrom

yourpowerplays.Bystrategicallyspreadingyour

wealth,

you

charmthe

other

courtiers,

creatingpleasure

and

making

valuableallies.

Lookatthemastersof

power——the

Caesars,

the

Queen

Elizabeths,

the

Michelangelos,

theMecljcis:Notamiser

among

them.Eventhe

great

con

artists

spendfreely

to

swindle.

Tightpursestrings

areunattractive——when

engaged

in

seduction,

Casanovawould

give

completely

not

only

ofhimself

butofhiswallet.The

powerful

understandthat

money

is

psychologically

charged,

andthatitisalsoavesselof

politeness

and

sociability.They

make

thehumansideof

money

a

weapon

intheir

armory.

For

everyone

ableto

play

with

money,

thousands

moreare

locked

ina

self-destructiverefusaltouse

money

creatively

and

strategically.

These

typesrepresent

the

opposite

pole

tothe

powerful,

and

you

mustlearnto

recognize

them-——eithertoavoidtheir

poisonous

naturesortoturntheirin-

flexibility

to

youradvantage:

The

Greedy

Fish.The

greedy

fishtakethehumanside

out

of

money.

Coldand

ruthless,

they

see

only

thelifelessbalance

sheet;

viewing

others

solely

aseither

pawns

orobstructionsintheir

pursuit

of

wealth,

they

tram-

ple

on

people’s

sentimentsandalienatevaluableallies.Noonewanisto

workwiththe

greedy

fish,

andoverthe

years

they

end

up

isolated,

which

ofien

proves

their

undoing.

Greedy

fisharethecona.rtist’sbreadandbutter:Lured

by

thebaitof

easymoney,they

swallowtheruse

hook,line,

andsinker.

They

are

easy

to

deceive,

for

theyspend

somuch

time

dealing

with

numbers

(not

with

peer

ple)

that

they

become

blind

to

psychology,including

their

own.Either

avoidthembefore

theyexploityou

or

play

ontheir

greed

to

yourgain.

The

Bargain

Demon.Powerful

peoplejudgeeverythingby

whatit

costs,

not

just

in

money

butin

time,

dignity,

and

peace

ofmind.

And

thisis

ex»

actly

what

Bargain

Demonscannotdo.

Wasting

valuabletime

digging

for

bargains,theyworryendlessly

aboutwhat

they

couldhave

gotten

else

whereforalittleless.On

top

of

that,

the

bargain

item

they

do

buy

isoften

shabby;perhaps

itneeds

costlyrepairs,

orwillhavetobe

replaced

twiceas