The 48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene

08/09/23 • 39 min

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene are described as amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive. This multi-million-copy New York Times bestselling book brands itself as the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.

50 Cent loved the book so much that he reached out to the author to work with him.

But what can we learn from this book about power, society, and morality and what are its limits?

Hosts Sam Webster Harris and Nicolas Vereecke provide a summary of the 48 laws of power, and discuss the book that launched Robert Greene's career.

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Contact the hosts

Wiser pod website

Nico's projects

Being a VC - Bitkraft.vc
Future of Gaming podcast - Website - YouTube

Sam's projects

Writing - Explosive thinking
Podcast - Growth mindset podcast

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Chapters

00:00 Overview of the 48 laws of power
03:04 Favorite laws of power
03:12 Law 4 - Say less than necessary
07:24 How the book is structured
10:43 Law 5 - So much depends on reputation. Guard it with your life
11:47 Law 47 - Don't go past the mark. You aim for in victory, learn when to stop
13:30 Law 46 - Never appear too perfect
15:39 Laws that didn't stick well
23:19 Law 26 - Keep your hands clean
23:37 Law 27 - create a cult-like following
24:40 Law 32 Play into people's fantasies
25:23 Have the top 10 influential people used these laws?
29:21 Law 33 - Discover each man's thumbscrew
30:17 Law 39 - Stir up waters to catch fish
31:25 Law 10 - Infection: Avoid the unhappy or the unlucky
33:52 General take on the book and rating
34:30 Sam - rating 6/10
35:43 Nico - rating 4/10
36:36 Correlation between power and happiness

Topics

Power and manipulation

Trust and respect

Creating a cult

Attacking weakness

Laws of history

Happiness and control

Guarding reputation

The real source of true power

Never be greedy

Avoid perfection

The problems with the 48 laws of power

Common book mistakes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

50 Cent loved the book so much that he reached out to the author to work with him.

But what can we learn from this book about power, society, and morality and what are its limits?

Hosts Sam Webster Harris and Nicolas Vereecke provide a summary of the 48 laws of power, and discuss the book that launched Robert Greene's career.

- -

Contact the hosts

Wiser pod website

Nico's projects

Being a VC - Bitkraft.vc
Future of Gaming podcast - Website - YouTube

Sam's projects

Writing - Explosive thinking
Podcast - Growth mindset podcast

- -

Chapters

00:00 Overview of the 48 laws of power
03:04 Favorite laws of power
03:12 Law 4 - Say less than necessary
07:24 How the book is structured
10:43 Law 5 - So much depends on reputation. Guard it with your life
11:47 Law 47 - Don't go past the mark. You aim for in victory, learn when to stop
13:30 Law 46 - Never appear too perfect
15:39 Laws that didn't stick well
23:19 Law 26 - Keep your hands clean
23:37 Law 27 - create a cult-like following
24:40 Law 32 Play into people's fantasies
25:23 Have the top 10 influential people used these laws?
29:21 Law 33 - Discover each man's thumbscrew
30:17 Law 39 - Stir up waters to catch fish
31:25 Law 10 - Infection: Avoid the unhappy or the unlucky
33:52 General take on the book and rating
34:30 Sam - rating 6/10
35:43 Nico - rating 4/10
36:36 Correlation between power and happiness

Topics

Power and manipulation

Trust and respect

Creating a cult

Attacking weakness

Laws of history

Happiness and control

Guarding reputation

The real source of true power

Never be greedy

Avoid perfection

The problems with the 48 laws of power

Common book mistakes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

The changing world order - Ray Dalio

From legendary investor Ray Dalio, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Principles, who has spent half a century studying global economies and markets, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order examines history’s most turbulent economic and political periods to reveal why the times ahead will likely be radically different from those we’ve experienced in our lifetimes—and to offer practical advice on how to navigate them well.

He discusses how nations that control the world have seized and lost their global power in predictable cycles. He explores where we are at today with the United States as a world power and where we are going next.

A few years ago, Ray Dalio noticed a confluence of political and economic conditions he hadn’t encountered before. They included huge debts and zero or near-zero interest rates that led to massive printing of money in the world’s three major reserve currencies; big political and social conflicts within countries, especially the US, due to the largest wealth, political, and values disparities in more than 100 years; and the rising of a world power (China) to challenge the existing world power (US) and the existing world order. The last time that this confluence occurred was between 1930 and 1945. This realization sent Dalio on a search for the repeating patterns and cause/effect relationships underlying all major changes in wealth and power over the last 500 years.

In this remarkable and timely addition to his Principles series, Dalio brings readers along for his study of the major empires—including the Dutch, the British, and the American—putting into perspective the “Big Cycle” that has driven the successes and failures of all the world’s major countries throughout history. He reveals the timeless and universal forces behind these shifts and uses them to look into the future, offering practical principles for positioning oneself for what’s ahead.

- -

Contact the hosts

Wiser pod website

Nico's projects

Being a VC - Bitkraft.vc
Future of Gaming podcast - Website - YouTube

Sam's projects

- -

Chapters

00:00 Intro
00:43 Brief summary of the book
17:31 3 key forces that influence the world
17:56 #1 Debt cycles
31:26 #2 Wealth and power disparities
23:40 #3 Rise and Fall of Empires
27:14 Is the US losing power
30:59 Bitcoin
31:35 What Ray Dalio thinks about bitcoin
33:15 How would the knowledge in this book change your life
36:27 Hosts ratings
38:06 Would you trust Ray Dalio with your money?
38:36 Next book - 48 laws of power
39:08 Outro

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

The Signal and The Noise - Nate Silver

Making good predictions is tough. We think we know more than we do and let emotions and biases creep in. How do some forecasters beat the odds? Our hosts, Nico and Sam, chat about the book "The Signal and the Noise" by Nate Silver exploring why predictions fail and uncovering practical insights.

A little statistical training can go a long way! We geek out on Bayes' Theorem, discuss why poker develops useful reasoning skills, and tackle investing decisions using probabilities. Improving predictions requires tracking your results and having the courage to map what you don't know.

We dissect Signal versus noise in forecasting explained and Understanding data prediction with Nate Silver, offering an analytical perspective on how to distinguish meaningful patterns from mere noise.

If you want to enhance your critical thinking abilities and decision-making under uncertainty, tune in! We promise no boring academic lectures - just practical tips served with our signature blend of intellectual curiosity and humor.

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Contact the hosts