BHA119: '48 Laws of Power' & the Complexity of Human Power Dynamics

anthonytyler
2 days ago
2 min read

Welcome back to Black Hoodie Alchemy, folks! It's a fresh New Year and hopefully a clean slate for this show-host, who had a total slog throughout 2025 all the way to the end -- but I'm happy to finally be back! And hopefully 2026 will prove to be a much more consistent year for myself, the show, and everyone else that had to really grit their teeth through the last year.

Listen to the episode right here or wherever you stream your podcast action!

This episode's topic is about none other than author Robert Greene's infamous work ⁠The 48 Laws of Power⁠, and if you'd like to skip past the all the pleasantries and show updates to get right to the meat, SKIP YOUR WAY TO 12:10.

This is an absolutely wild, unfiltered book about the psychology and history of human power dynamics. It can be read as a guide for spotting out sociopaths and psychopaths; it can be used to psychologically defend yourself and your reputation amidst human politics in general; you can learn how to be a firm but fair leader; and you can also learn how to be a downright tyrant, dictator, and psychopath if you really want to. But in Greene's own words, he isn't a psychopath, he's a realist that studies human nature unfiltered, and that is exactly what this book is all about.

If nothing else, the 48 laws of power remind me a great deal of martial arts -- they can be deadly, but should be used for self defense only. A read like this is a tool for the critically-thinking adult that is capable of using discernment and judgment at every turn, and if you think this book is solely responsible for inspiring psychopaths, I think you need to re-evaluate your understanding of human history.

People were already figuring out how to be effective psychopaths, and I for one am glad that someone like Greene wrote a book like this to lay their scummy tactics out bare for the layman! If you agree, then you will certainly enjoy the listen.