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Attacking directly is rarely a good idea. Napoleon had a name for the opposite strategy, the ‘manoeuvre sur les derrieres’ – it would become a favorite of his. It worked because generals liked to place their armies in strong frontal positions and second, an army that is attacked from the flank must turn to defend itself. The moment of turning creates confusion and weakness.
Often, individuals show their flank – they signal their vulnerability by showing its opposite to the world. They put on a tough exterior, an aggressive personality – they push other around. It may also be a defense mechanism to keep intruders out in the name of stability. It can be the ideas they hold most dear, or how they make themselves liked. If you get them to expose this front – to reveal their intentions and more of themselves, then their unprotected front comes to focus – their unconscious desires, compulsions, and precarious alliances. When they turn to face you, they will be off balance.
Caesar and the Pirates
When he was young, Caesar was captured by pirates. They asked for a ransom of twenty talents. He laughed and suggested that a man like him was worth more than double this amount. He volunteered to pay up, and his attendants went to retrieve the money. He stayed with the pirates for weeks, enjoying their games, and even playing rough with them – he joked that he would one day crucify them.
As promised, the pirates were paid their due. But Caesar went to a nearby island, gathered his forces, and attacked the pirates from the flank. At first, they welcomed him, but he had them arrested, crucified them as promised and took back the money he paid them.
Caesar understood that there were many ways to conquer in the realm of politics. Most people march straight ahead, directly, trying to overpower their enemies. But unless they can kill their enemies in this way, they are just creating resentful enemies who will cause them trouble in the future. Make enough enemies and life becomes dangerous. Caesar discovered a better way.
He would take the fight out of his enemies through cunning and strategic generosity. He disarmed his enemies and made them his allies. In this way, he forced them to put down their guard, and then made it easier to get retribution, like he did with the pirates.
Today, the conflicts we go through are not obvious, there are plenty of people trying to persuade us of their master vision, to move us in some direction, bend us to their will or their cause. Our social world contains a veneer of aggression, disguised but deadly. Others will try to persuade us, through argument and emotion, they will push and pull, with actions and orders. Even the passive players know how to use guilt and manipulation. Watch them closely and they become easy to figure out.
Conversion is achieved more easily and rapidly by unsuspected infiltration of a different idea or by an argument that turns the flank of instinctive opposition. The indirect approach is as fundamental to the realm of politics as to the realm of sex. In commerce, the suggestion that there is a bargain to be secured is far more important than any direct appeal to buy. And in any sphere, it is proverbial that the surest way of gaining a superior’s acceptance of a new idea is to weaken resistance before attempting to overcome it; and the effect is best attained by drawing the other party out of his defences.
STRATEGY, B. H. LIDDELL HART, 1954
Ego
Vanity and ego are a kind of front, and when people attack you and you don’t know why, it is because you have threatened their ego (inadvertently). You have marginalized their position in the world and their sense of importance. Use flattery, gifts, an offer of alliance, and a mirroring of their values to put their guard down – this works particularly well with those who have delicate egos.
Cortes
in 1512, Hernan Cortes and his army landed in eastern Mexico, they wanted to conquer the Aztec Empire. But first, Cortes needed to conquer the minds of his own men. There was a small contingent of vocal supporters of Velazquez, the governor of Cuba, a rival of Cortes who merely sent him on a scouting expedition. These men were obstacles in the way of Cortes every step of the way – one contention was gold. Cortes let his men barter for gold but then used some of it to buy food. Velasquez’s men argued against this practice.
Cortes, appearing to concede, suggested that Velasquez’s men appoint a treasurer – and so they did. But this policy was unpopular with the soldiers, wo risked their lives for little benefit. They complained angrily, but Cortes pointed to the men who insisted on this policy. He eventually rescinded the policy because of the soldiers’ unanimous dissent and the other men were exposed and despised.
When people argue, they try to appear more conciliatory and flexible than they are. If you attack directly, you will not get far because the target is not yet visible. You should make them go further with their ideas, creating a larger target for you to aim at. Stab back and go along – you must never strike too early.
The Book of Changes (I Ching) is considered the Eastern apotheosis of adaptation. The recurring theme is to observe life and bend with its slow to survive and develop. Everything can be a source of conflict, but if you oppose them from the wrong angle, or in the wrong way, then the results will be devastating to you. But approach them from the right angle, and any source of conflict can be diminished.
Be careful not to occupy the opponent’s flank at the expense of exposing your own. Clinton did this with republicans, but eventually voters felt he didn’t clearly stand for something tangible that sets him apart from the other side.
If you are interested in exploring the darker or hidden parts of human psychology that most people ignore, check out The Dichotomy of the Self.