When it comes to books about power and strategy, two of the most famous are The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli and The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. In this post, I compare and contrast these two influential works, discussing their similarities and differences. I’ll also give you a recommendation depending on your goals.
You can find full summaries of both The 48 Laws of Power and The Prince on this site.
Similarities
At their core, both The Prince and The 48 Laws of Power are about power. Both books encourage readers to think deeply about the reality of power: how to acquire it, how to maintain it and how to avoid losing it. Both books also draw on historical examples involving successes and blunders made by kings and rulers.
Moreover, there is some overlap in the advice provided, since it is evident that The 48 Laws of Power drew inspiration from The Prince. For example, Machiavelli recommends that if you have to injure someone, you should “crush” them, because otherwise they’ll seek revenge against you. Law 15 of Greene’s 48 Laws is “Crush your enemy totally” for pretty much the same reason (but Greene elaborates on this a bit more.)
Differences
However, the similarities pretty much end there. The Prince and The 48 Laws of Power are two very different books. They differ greatly in terms of their:
- Audience and purpose;
- Writing style;
- Advice;
- Ethics; and
- General reputation.
Audience and purpose
Machiavelli wrote The Prince in the 16th century. He was a former diplomat and addressed the book to the ruler of Florence at the time (Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici). In writing the book, Machiavelli hoped to get back his previous position and wished to see a strong and capable leader restore his home, Florence, to its former glory.
Robert Greene published The 48 Laws of Power in 1998, so the book is aimed at a modern audience. Greene is an author so it’s reasonable to assume he wanted to sell books and make money.
Writing style
The Prince is a reasonably challenging read because of when it was written (this depends on the translation though — some are more challenging than others). While the book as a whole is very short (164 pages), sentences are frequently long and unwieldy and the language can be unfamiliar to modern readers.
In contrast, The 48 Laws of Power is a very easy read. At 450 pages, it’s much longer than The Prince, but the writing is clear and straightforward. It’s also written in such a way that readers can pick it up and put it down as they choose.
Advice
As The Prince was written for a very specific audience, most of the advice is not directly applicable to modern readers. It might be relevant to political leaders or political scientists who want to understand how to stay in power and keep their populace happy, but I can’t think of many others who would find Machiavelli’s advice directly relevant.
While The 48 Laws of Power also relies heavily on examples of rulers and military generals, the laws themselves are stated in the abstract so could be directly applied by a modern reader. For example, it is easy to see how “Never Outshine the Master” may be relevant to your corporate job. The 48 Laws also provides more advice than The Prince does — it’s a much longer book discussing power in general and Greene draws on influences beyond just Machiavelli.
But interestingly, I found The Prince provides more context and explanation behind its advice. The 48 Laws is somewhat contradictory as different “laws” apply in different situations, but Greene never really explains when to use each law. The Prince does better in this regard, even though the situations it discusses are not that relevant to readers today.
Ethics
Many people ask whether The 48 Laws of Power is evil, which I think is a fair question. It’s not just that the book presents a rather cynical take on human nature. Some of the advice, taken literally, is ethically indefensible. There’s a reason it’s so popular among convicts and is frequently banned in prisons. Greene himself has admitted that he went to “an extreme” in The 48 Laws and that anybody who practised all his laws would be a “horrible ugly person to be around. So it seems fair to say that, from an ethical standpoint, Greene deliberately made The 48 Laws of Power provocative in order to sell more books. As I’ve said before, it’s not a book you should take too seriously.
The Prince, on the other hand, doesn’t advocate being an asshole. Machiavelli lived in turbulent times and his advice is much more pragmatic. Earnest, even. He acknowledges that you cannot act virtuously in every situation, and that you’ll occasionally have to go back on your word — but he does so reluctantly. For example, Machiavelli writes:
it cannot be called talent to slay fellow-citizens, to deceive friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; such methods may gain empire, but not glory.
The Prince certainly does not relish or glorify unethical acts in the way that The 48 Laws often does.
General reputation
The Prince is a literary classic. It’s widely regarded as one of the most significant texts in political philosophy. It’s influenced many famous historical figures, such as Henry VIII, Shakespeare, Hitler and Stalin. The word “Machiavellian” has entered the general English lexicon. The Prince‘s impact on history has undoubtedly been far greater than that of The 48 Laws‘.
You may find The Prince a worthwhile read even if you have no desire to increase your power. While you might find the writing style challenging, it also contains elegant — at times poetic — turns of phrase. Literary snobs (like Mortimer Adler) will think more highly of you for having read it.
In contrast, The 48 Laws of Power is not a literary classic. Don’t get me wrong — it’s an extremely popular book, with over a million copies sold in the US alone. But I doubt anyone will think more highly of you for having read it (if anything, the reverse is more likely to be true).
Conclusion
Whether you should read The 48 Laws of Power or The Prince depends on what you are trying to get out of it. They are very different books. If you want to read a literary classic and gain some cred for being a “serious” reader, The Prince is definitely the way to go. If you’re just looking for an easy and entertaining read, The 48 Laws of Power is the better option.
In terms of which one is better at teaching you about power — it’s hard to say, but I’d probably give the edge to The 48 Laws. The advice in The 48 Laws is certainly more comprehensive and relevant to most readers today. However, it also contains many contradictions and Greene doesn’t give much advice on when to apply his various laws. Neither The Prince nor The 48 Laws is a book you can just pick up and apply like a “how to” manual (unless, you happen to be a prince who has recently acquired a new principality). But both are thought-provoking and can help you see situations in a new light.
Get The 48 Laws of Power here: Amazon | Kobo or The Prince here: Amazon | Kobo
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Have you read both The 48 Laws of Power and The Prince? Which did you prefer? Share your thoughts in comments below!
One thought on “The 48 Laws of Power vs The Prince”
This is one of my favorite book. Robert Green rocks!!!