The 48 Laws Of Power

Image:

The

Cat.

Creatureof

habit,

itlovesthe

warmth ofthefamiliar.

Upset

its

routines,

disrupt

its

space,

anditwill

grow unmanageable

and

psychotic.

Placate

it

bysupporting

its

rituals.

If

change

is

necessary,

deceive

the

cat

by

keeping

thesmellofthe

past

alive;

placeobjects

familiartoitin

strategic

locations.

REVERSAL

The

past

isa

corpse

to

be

usedas

you

seefit.Ifwhat

happened

in

there-

cent
past

was

painful

and

harsh.

itis

se1f—destructive

to

associate

yourself

withit.When

Napoleon

cameto

power,

theFrenchRevolutionwasfresh

in

everyone’s

minds.Ifthecourtthatheestablishedhadborne

any

resem-

blancetothelavishcourtofLouisXVIand
Marie-Antoinette,

hiscourtiers

wouldhave

spent

all

their

time

worrying

abouttheir

ownnecks.

Instead,

Napoleon

establishedacourtremarkableforits

sobriety

andlackofosten-

tation.Itwasthecourtofamanwhovaluedworkand

military

virtues.This

newformseemed

appropriate

and

reassuring.

Inother

words,

pay

attention

tothetimes.Butunderstand:If

you

makea
bold

change

fromthe

past,you

mustavoidatallcoststhe

appear-

anceofavoidor

vacuum,

or

you

will

createterror.Even

an

ugly

recenthis-

tory

willseem

preferable

toan

emptyspace.

Fillthat

space

immediately

withnewritualsandforms.

Soothing

and

growing

familiar,

thesewillsecure

yourpositionamong

themasses.

Finally,

the

arts,fashion,

and

technology

wouldseemtobe

areasin

which

power

wouldcomefrom

creating

a

radical

rupture

withthe

past

and

appearing

cutting

edge.

Indeed,

sucha

strategy

can

bringgreat

power,

but

ithas

manydangers.

Itisinevitablethat

your

innovationswillbeoutdone

by

someoneelse.Youhavelittlecontrol—-someone

younger

andfresher

moves

in

asuddennew

direction,

makingyour

bold

innovationof

yester~

day

seemtiresomeandtame

today.

Youareforever

playing

catch-up;

your

power

istenuousandshort-lived.Youwanta

power

builton

something

moresolid.

Using

the

past,

tinkering

with

tradition,

playing

withconven-

tion

to

subvert

itwill

giveyour

creations

something

more

thanamomen-

taryappeal.

Periods

of

dizzyingchangedisguise

the

fact

thata

yearning

for

the

past

will

inevitablycreep

backin.Inthe

end,

using

the

past

for

your

own

purposes

will

bringyou

more

power

than

trying

tocutitoutcom-

p1etely—-a.

futileandself-destructiveendeavor.

LAW

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