Why empathy, not intimidation, keeps the crown “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”— John Dalberg-Acton “It is much safer to be feared than loved,” wrote Niccolò Machiavelli in The Prince . Nearly five centuries later, Robert Greene revived the same spirit in The 48 Laws of Power : Crush your enemy totally. Conceal your intentions. Keep others in suspended terror. It’s dramatic. It feels strong. It sells. But science tells a very different story.