MONEY AND POWER
In the re alm of power, everything must be judged by its cost, and everything has a price. What is offered for free or at bargain rates often comes
with a psychological price tag-complicated feelings of obligation, compromises with quality, the insecurity those compromises bring, on and on.
The powerful learn early to protect their most valuable resources: independence and room to maneuver. By paying the full price, they keep themselves free of dangerous entanglements and worries.
Being open and flexible with money also teaches the value of strategie
generosity, a variation on the old trick of "giving when you are about to
take." By giving the appropriate gift, you put the recipient under obligation. Generosity softens people up--to be deceived. By gaining a reputation for liberality, you win people's admiration while distracting them from
your power plays. By strategically spreading your wealth, you charm the
other courtiers, creating pleasure and making valuable allies.
Look at the masters of power-the Caesars, the Queen Elizabeths, the
Michelangelos, the Medicis:
Not a miser among them. Even the great con
artists spend freely to swindle. Tight purse strings are unattractive--when
engaged in seduction, Casanova would give completely not only of himself
but of his wallet. The powerful understand that money is psychologically
charged, and that it is also a vessei of politeness and sociability. They make
the human side of money a weapon in their armory.
For everyone able to play with money, thousands more are locked in a
self-destructive refusal to use money creatively and strategically. These
types represent the opposite pole to the powerful, and you must leam to
recognize them-either to avoid their poisonous natures or to turn their inflexibility to your advantage:
The Greedy Fish. The greedy fish take the human side out of money
.
Cold and ruthless, they see only the lifeless balance sheet; viewing others
solely as either pawns or obstructions in their pursuit of wealth, they trample on people's sentiments and alienate valuable allies. No one wants to
work with the greedy fish, and over the years they end up isolated, which
often proves their undoing.
Greedy fish are the con artist's bread and butter: Lured by the bait of
easy money, they swallow the ruse hook, line, and sinker. They are easy to
deceive, for they spend so much time dealing with numbers (not with peopIe) that they become blind to psychology, including their own. Either
avoid them before they exploit you or play on their greed to your gain.
The Bargain Demon. Powerful people judge everything by what it costs,
not just in money but in time, dignity, and peace of mind. And this is exactly what Bargain Demons cannot do.
Wasting valuable time digging for
bargains, they worry endlessly about what they could have gotten elsewhere for a little less. On top of that, the bargain item they do buy is often
shabby; perhaps it needs costly repairs, or will have to be replaced twice as
fast as a high-quality item. The costs of these pursuits-not always in
money (though the price of a bargain is often deceptive) but in time and
peace of mind-discourage normal people from undertaking them, but for
the Bargain Demon the bargain is an end in itself.
These types might seem to harm only themselves, but their attitudes
are contagious: Unless you resist them they will infect you with the inseeure feeling that you should have looked harder to find a cheaper price.
Don't argue with them or try to change them. Just mentally add up the
eost, in time and inner peace if not in hidden financial expense, of the irrational pursuit of a bargain.
The Sadist. Financial sadists play vicious power games with money as a
way of asserting their power. They might, for example, make you wait for
money that is owed you, promising you that the check is in the mail. Or if
they hire you to work for them, they meddle in every aspect of the job,
haggling and giving you ulcers. Sadists seem to think that paying for something gives them the right to torture and abuse the seIler. They have no
sense of the courtier element in money. If you are unlucky enough to get
involved with this type, accepting a financial loss may be better in the long
run than getting entangled in their destructive power games.
The Indiscriminate Giver. Generosity has a definite function in power:
It attracts people, softens them up, makes allies out of them. But it has to be
used strategically, with a definite end in mind. Indiscriminate Givers, on
the other hand, are generous because they want to be loved and admired
by all. And their generosity is so indiscriminate and needy that it may not
have the desired effect: If they give to one and all, why should the recipient
feel special? Attractive as it may seem to make an Indiscriminate Giver
your mark, in any involvement with this type you will often feel burdened
by their insatiable emotional needs.
TRANSGRESSIONS OF THE LAW
Transgression I
Mter Francisco Pizarro conquered Peru, in 1532,
gold from the Incan Empire began to pour into Spain, and Spaniards of all classes started dreaming
of the instant riches to be had in the New World. The story so on spread of
an Indian chief to the east of Peru who once each year would ritually cover
himself in gold dust and dive into a lake. Soon word of mouth transformed
EI Dorado, the "Golden Man," into an empire called EI Dorado, wealthier
than the Incan, where the streets were paved and the buildings inlaid with
gold. This elaboration of the story did not seem implausible, for surely a
chief who could afford to waste gold dust in a lake must rule a golden empire. Soon Spaniards were searching for EI Dorado all over northem South
America.
from their inability to
make a living and their
laziness in this respect.
They should not
occupy themselves with
absurdities and untrue
stories.
THE MUOADDIMAH,
IBN KHALDÜN,
1332-1 406
TllE M ISER
A miser, to make sure
of his property, sold all
that he had and
converted it into a great
lump of gold, which he
hid in a hole in the
ground, and went
continually to visit and
inspect it. This roused
the curiosity of one of
his workmen, who,
suspecting that there
was a treasure. when
his master's back was
turned, went to the
spot, and stole it away.
When the miser
returned and found the
place empty, he wept
and tore his hair. But a
neighbor who saw him
in this extravagant
griej, and learned the
cause of it, said: "Fret
thyselfno longer, but
take a stone and put it
in the same place, and
thin k that it is your
lump of gold; for, as
you never meant to use
it, the one will do you
as much good as the
other. "
The worth of money is
not in its possession,
but in its use.
FABLES,
AESOP,
SIXTH CENTURY B.e.
LAW 40 335
There is a popular
saying in Japan that
goes "Tada yori takai
mono wa nai," meaning: "Nothing is more
costly than something
given free of charge. "
THE UNSPOKEN WAY,
MICHIHIRO
MATSUMOTO,
1 988
MONEY
Yusuf Ibn Jafar elAmudi used to take
sums of money, sometimes very large ones,
from those who came
to study wirh him.
A distinguished legalist
visiting him on ce said:
"1 am enchanted and
impressed by your
teachings, and I am
sure that you are
directing your disciples
in a proper manner.
But it is not in accordance with tradition to
take money for knowledge. Besides, the
action is open to misinterpretation. "
El-Amudi said: "1 have
ne ver sold any knowledge. There is no
money on earth sufficient to pay for it. As
for misinterpretation,
the abstaining from
ta king money will not
prevent it, for it will
find some other object.
Rather should you
know that a man who
takes money may be
greedy for money, or
he may not. But a man
who takes nothing at
all is under the gravest
336 LAW 40
In February of 1541, the largest expedition yet in this venture, led by
Pizarro's brother Gonzalo, left Quito, in Ecuador. Resplendent in their armors and colorful silks,
340 Spaniards headed east, along with 4,000 Indians to carry supplies and serve as scouts, 4,000 swine, dozens of llamas,
and elose to 1,000 dogs. Eut the expedition was so on hit by torrential rain,
which rotted its gear and spoiled its food. Meanwhile, as Gonzalo Pizarro
questioned the Indians they met along the way, those who seemed to be
withholding information, or who had not even heard of the fabulous kingdom, he would torture and feed to the dogs. Word of the Spaniards' murderousness spread quickly among the Indians, who realized that the only
way to avoid Gonzalo's wrath was to make up stories about EI Dorado
and send hirn as far away as possible. As Gonzalo and his men followed
the leads the Indians gave them, then, they were only led farther into deep
jungle.
The explorers' spirits sagged. Their uniforms had long since shredded;
their armor rusted and they threw it away; their shoes were tom to pieces,
forcing them to walk barefoot; the Indian slaves they had set out with had
either died or deserted them; they had eaten not only the swine but the
hunting dogs and llamas. They lived on roots and fruit. Realizing that they
could not continue this way, Pizarro decided to risk river travel, and a
barge was built out of rotting wood. Eut the journey down the treacherous
Napo River proved no easier. Setting up camp on the river's edge, Gonzalo
sent scouts ahead on the barge to find Indian settlements with food.
He
waited and waited for the scouts to return, only to find out they had decided to desert the expedition and continue down the river on their own.
The rain continued without end. Gonzalo's men forgot about EI Dorado; they wanted only to return to Quito. Finally, in August of 1542, a little over a hundred men, from an expedition originally numbering in the
thousands, managed to find their way back. To the residents of Quito they
seemed to have emerged from hell itself, wrapped in tatters and skins, their
bodies covered in sores, and so emaciated as to be unrecognizable. For
over a year and a half they had marched in an enormous cirele, two thousand miles by foot. The vast sums of money invested in the expedition had
yielded nothing-no sign of EI Dorado and no sign of gold.
Interpretation
Even after Gonzalo Pizarro's disaster, the Spaniards launched expedition
after expedition in search of EI Dorado. And like Pizarro the conquistadors
would bum and loot villages, torture Indians, endure unimaginable hardships, and get no eloser to gold. The money they spent on such expeditions
cannot be calculated; yet despite the futility of the search, the lure of the
fantasy endured.
Not only did the search for EI Dorado cost millions of lives-both Indian and Spanish-it helped bring the ruin of the Spanish empire. Gold became Spain's obsession.
The gold that did find its way back to Spain-and
a lot did-was reinvested in more expeditions, or in the purehase of luxuries, rather than in agriculture or any other productive endeavor. Whole
Spanish towns were depopulated as their menfolk left to hunt gold. Farms
fell into ruin, and the army had no recruits for its European wars. By the
end of the seventeenth century, the entire country had shrunk by more
than half of its population; the city of Madrid had gone from a population
of 400,000 to 150,000. With diminishing returns from its efforts over so
many years, Spain fell into a decline from which it never recovered.
Power requires self-discipline. The prospect of wealth, particularly
easy, sudden wealth, plays havoc with the emotions. The suddenly rich believe that more is always possible. The free lunch, the money that will fall
into your lap, is just around the corner.
In this delusion the greedy neglect everything power really depends
on: self-control, the goodwill of others, and so on. Understand: With one
exception-death-no lasting change in fortune comes quickly. Sudden
wealth rarely lasts, for it is built on nothing solid. Never let lust for money
lure you out of the protective and enduring fortress of real power. Make
power your goal and money will find its way to you. Leave EI Dorado for
suckers and fools