Why You Need To Understand Power

<p>The actor Josh Peck recently had Robert Greene on his podcast to discuss the book, <a href='http://geni.us/GKmtM'><em>The Laws of Human Nature</em></a>. It’s a fascinating interview, but one of the most revealing parts is when Josh asks Robert about how Robert squares his interest in Stoicism with the rather ruthless and Machiavellian messages of his books.  </p><p>As Robert explains, we need to understand how the world works, <em>especially</em> if we intend to stick to a path of virtue.  </p><p>“Marcus Aurelius had a quote, I can&apos;t say it exactly, but he says, when a boxer gets in the ring with another boxer and he gets punched, he doesn&apos;t complain and go, ‘god dammit, you hit me. I don&apos;t deserve to be hit.’ He accepts that. That&apos;s the game of life. Well, we should see that in life in general: when people hit us, that&apos;s just who they are. People are who they are. We shouldn&apos;t judge them. We should just accept them like we accept a rock or a stone or that boxer. That&apos;s what people are like, that&apos;s what we’re going to get. And the Stoic attitude of accepting the world as it is and working with how things are permeates the <em>48 Laws Of Power</em>. </p><p>It’s very much like Marcus Aurelius—advocating that you feel a level of detachment. In fact, I believe I use that quote from him. So it&apos;s not far off from Stoicism. But the latest book is more in that Stoic spirit than the 48 Laws. It&apos;s more about accepting that this is nature. The Stoics have a word, <em>logos</em>. This is the way that the universe is, this is what permeates the laws that govern all behavior. And so I&apos;m very much in that spirit of kind of looking at people with some distance, but all my books are approaching life with a little bit of detachment because I feel like that&apos;s what will make you happier and also more successful in general.”</p><p>What Robert is really saying is that although each of us should commit to being good and honest and fair, it’s naive to assume that everyone el