The 48 Laws Of Power

364

2

LAW 49

them——you

seemlessbrutal.The

result,

though,

isthe

same,

forinthe

game

of

power,

isolation

spells

death.

Themosteffectiveformofisolationissomehowto

separateyour

vic-

tims

from

their

power

base.

When

Mao

Tse—tung

wantedtoeliminatean

enemy

in

the

ruling

elite,

hedidnotconfrontthe

persondirectly;

be

silently

and

stealthily

workedtoisolatethe

man,

dividehisalliesandturn

them

away

from

him,

shrinkhis

support.

Soontheman

would

vanish

on

hisown.

Presenceand

appearance

have

greatimport

inthe

game

of

power.

To

seduce,

particularly

in

the

beginningstages,you

needtobe

constantly

present,

orcreatethe

feeling

that

you

are;

if

you

areoftenoutof

sight,

the

charm willwearoil”.

Queen

Ellzabeth’s

prime

minister,

Robert

Cecil,

hadtwomainrivals:

the

queen’s

favorite,

the

Earl

of

Essex,

andherfor-

mer

favorite,

SirWalter

Raleigh.

Hecontrivedtosendthembothon

a

mission

againstSpain;

with

them

away

fromthecourthe

managed

to

wrap

histentaclesaroundthe

queen,

securehis

position

asher

top

ad~

viserandweakenheraffectionfor

Raleigh

andtheearl.Thelessonhere

istwofold:

First,

your

absencefromthecourt

spellsdanger

for

you,

and

you

shouldneverleavethescene

ina

timeof

turmoil,

for

your

absence

can

both

symbolize

andinduce

alossof

power;

second,

and

ontheother

hand,

luringyour

enemies

away

fromthecourtatcriticalmomentsisa

greatploy.

Isolation

hasother

strategic

uses.When

trying

to

seduce

people,

it

is

oftenwise

to

isolatethemfromtheirusualsocialcontext.Onceisolated

they

arevulnerableto

you,

and

yourpresence

becomes

magnified.

Simi-

larly,

conartistsoftenlookfor

ways

toisolatetheirmarksfromtheirnor

malsocial

milieux,

steering

themintonewenvironmentsinwhich

they

areno

longer

comfortable.Here

they

feel

weak,

and

succumb

to

decep~

tion

more

easily.

Isolation,then,

can

prove

a

powerfulway

of

bringing

people

under

yourspell

toseduceorswindlethem.

Youwilloftenfind

powerfulpeople

whohavealienatedthemselves

fromthe

group.Perhaps

their

power

has

gone

totheir

heads,

and

they

considerthemselves

superior;perhapsthey

havelosttheknackofcom-

municating

with

ordinary

folk.Remember:Thismakesthemvulnerable.

Powerful

thoughthey

be,

people

likethiscanbeturnedtouse.

Themonk

Rasputingained

his

power

overCzarNicholasandCzar-

inaAlexandraofRussia

through

theirtremendousisolation

fromthe

peo-

ple.

Alexandrain

particular

was a

foreigner,

and

especially

alienated

from

everyday

Russians;

Rasputin

usedhis

peasantorigins

toinsinuate

himselfintoher

good

graces,

forshe

desperately

wantedtocommunicate

withher

subjects.

Onceinthecourt’sinner

circle,

Rasputin

madehimself

indispensable

andattained

greatpower.Headingstraight

forthe

center,

heaimedfortheone

figure

inRussiawhocommanded

power

(the

czarina

dominated

her

husband),

and

foundhe

had

noneedtoisolateher

for

the

workwas

already

done.The

Rasputin

strategy

can

bring

you

greatpower:

Always

searchout

people

whohold

highpositionsyet

whofindthem-