Robert Greene: The 33 strategies of war

One of the most perverse facts of human nature is that those who believe the world to be a terrible place often take it upon themselves to make it worse.

Those who judge the good deeds of others to be a cover for self-interest see unalloyed egoism on their own part as the only rational response.

Robert Greene has done very well out of it, setting himself up as a modern-day Machiavelli. He is the highly successful author of cynical tracts on how to get ahead and how to get laid. His latest work looks like a guide to winning in combat, but the subject matter is really the same as in his earlier books, for he sees every aspect of life as war.

Greene writes "the problem for us is that we are trained and prepared for peace, and we are not prepared for what confronts us in the real world - war".

The thought that being nice to one another is the best way to behave is merely a piece of misinformation put out by the masters of the game. Those who have made it in society like to present a peaceful, pleasant face, but according to the author they know very well that it is every man for himself - even in families and relationships.

Peace and co-operation are, he feels, "impossible and inhuman" ideals. What we really need is practical advice on how to deal with conflict.

Some of Greene's advice to this end is very good. To smoke out hidden enemies, he suggests making ambiguous gestures that could be read as offensive. A true friend will find your behaviour confusing, but a foe will reveal himself by taking affront.

The author also makes a decent case for the cultivation of deadly enemies as a means of defining and galvanising oneself, and the marshalling of sources can be deft and creative.

However, behind his many anecdotes is the old saying that morality is reducible to a power game. Social mores are only instruments of someone's will to power, and appeals to your conscience are wily tricks to weaken your selfish resolve.

It is never clear whether Greene really believes what he writes or whether it is just his shtick, an instrument of his will to shift books.

The instrument could certainly be sharper, because there are far too many duff sentences such as, "Your goal is to blend philosophy and war, wisdom and battle, into an unbeatable blend". There is something less than adult about it all. The grinding references to the "warrior's spirit" conjure nothing so much as an office worker wearing his necktie around his head.

There is also a problem with the book's notion of peace. The false "niceness" the author despises is far from the universal pretence he claims. Few would describe the entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar as a "nice" man, but everyone agrees that he is honourable person to do business with. He can be trusted and taken at his word. When leaders among men tell us to be virtuous in our dealings with others, this is the kind of virtue they have in mind. Mature individuals prefer such straight dealing to being treated "nicely". Sir Alan does not treat his employees and customers as enemies to be defeated.

Greene's cynical message derails itself every time he remembers that he is writing a mass-market self-help book.

Like all exponents of the form, he promises there is no limit to what we can achieve if we remain determined. So although life is a battlefield, our fight is fundamentally a fair one in which each of us has the potential for victory.

Xenophon is quoted with approval: "Your obstacle is yourself." There is no excuse for failure, since if you keep your nerve and make the right decisions, you cannot but succeed.

It is curious how life's winners never believe in luck. Their conceit is immodest at best, and at worst it grinds the losers' faces into the dust. It adds shame to the latter's list of woes, for on this understanding you cannot lose without deserving to. It is one thing to say that the world is dark; it is another to relish the darkness.

* Published by Viking

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