The 48 Laws of Power: Law 13 Summary & Analysis

When asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude. Greene suggests that if you need help from a friend, it’s better to remind them of what they stand to gain, rather than just relying on friendship. In the 14th century, an Italian man named Stefano di Poggio helped broker a peace between his family and a rival family led by Castruccio Castracani. But Stefano’s belief in justice and friendship led to his downfall, as Castracani tricked him and his whole family by pretending to show kindness, then executing all of them. By contrast, the ancient residents of Corcyra managed to form an alliance with the powerful Athenians by promising to be useful, as opposed to the Corinthians, who failed to secure an alliance when they tried to rely on gratitude for past deeds.

Greene writes that there’s an art to asking for help from people who are more powerful than you are. To succeed, you have to understand the psychology of the person you’re talking to, trying to see if your opponent is vain or motivated more by money. Self-interest will get people to do what you want them to. Still, this law does not apply when dealing with people who don’t believe in the value of self-interest—in this case, it is better to allow these people a chance to be charitable, rather than trying to give them something.