The 48 Laws Of Power

‘)5’: LAW 13

thesecond

round,

they

voted

overwhelmingly

to

ally

with

Corcyra

and

drop

Corinth.

Interpretation

History

hasrememberedtheAthenians

nobly,

but

they

werethe

preemi-

nentrealistsofclassicalGreece.With

them,

allthe

rhetoric,

alltheemo-

tional

appeals

inthe

world,

couldnotmatcha

goodpragmaticargument,

especially

onethataddedtotheir

power.

WhattheCorinthianambassadordidnot

realizewasthathisrefer-

encestoCorinth’s

pastgenerosity

toAthens

only

irritatedthe

Athenians,

subtly

asking

themtofeel

guilty

and

putting

themunder

obligation.

The

Athenianscouldn’tcarelessabout

past

favorsand

friendlyfeelings.

Atthe

same

time,

they

knewthatiftheirotherallies

thought

them

ungrateful

for

abandoning

Corinth,

these

city-states

wouldstillbe

unlikely

tobreaktheir

tiesto

Athens,

the

preeminentpower

in

Greece.Athensruledits

empireby

force,

andwould

simplycompel

any

rebellious

ally

toreturntothefold.

When

people

choosebetweentalkaboutthe

past

andtalkaboutthe

future,

a

pragmaticperson

will

alwaysopt

forthefutureand

forget

the

past.

Asthe

Corcyrans

realized,

itis

always

bestto

speakpragmatically

to

a

pragmatic

person.

Andinthe

end,

most

people

areinfast

pragmatic-—they

will

rarely

act

against

theirownself-interest.

It

has

always

been

arulethattheweak

shouldbe

subject

to

the

strong;

and

besides,

weconsiderthatweam

worthyof

our

power.Up

tillthe

present

moment

you,

too,

usedtothinkthatwe

were;

but

now.

after

calculatingyour

own

interest,

you

are

beginning

totalkinterms

ofright

and

wrong.

Conréderatiores

ofthis

kindhavenever

yet

turned

people

aside

[mm

the

opportunitiesofagrandizemeni

offeredby

superiorstrength.

A

thenmrr.

r.’pre.rwata.£ir»s'

lo

Sf1Irrifi.

quulmi

in

The

Pcloponnesian

War,

'£‘hur._wiz'dn.i,

(2.4(15» 395 14.1.’.

KEYSTOPOWER

In

yourquest

for

power,you

will

constantly

find

yourself

inthe

position

of

asking

for

help

fromthosemore

powerful

than

you.

Thereisanarttoask-

ing

for

help,

anartthat

depends

on

yourability

tounderstandthe

person

you

are

dealing

with,

andtonotconfuse

your

needswiththeirs.

Most

people

never

succeedat

this,

because

they

are

completely

trapped

intheirownwantsanddesires.

They

startfrom

the

assumption

that

the

peoplethey

are

appealing

tohavea

selflessinterestin

helping

them.

They

talkasiftheirneedsmatteredtothese

peopleowhoprobably

couldn’tcareless.Sometimes

they

referto

larger

issues:a

great

cause,

or

grand

emotionssuchasloveand

gratitude.Theygo

forthe

bigpicture

when

simple,everyday

realitieswouldhavemuchmore

appeal.

What

they

do

notrealizeisthateventhemost

powerful

person

islockedinsideneeds

ofhis

own,

andthatif

you

makeno

appeal

tohis

selfdnterest,

he

merely

sees

you

as

desperate

or,

at

best,

awasteoftime.