SOURCE: Glasberg, Ronald. “Toward a Cross-Cultural Language of Power: Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Machiavelli's The Prince as Exemplary Texts.” Comparative Civilizations Review no. 27 (fall 1992): 31-50.

In the following essay, Glasberg outlines the profound philosophical differences that exist between The Art of War and Machiavelli's The Prince.

In attempting to grasp the fundamental assumptions of any civilization, one has to go beyond the purely theoretical sphere associated with philosophy, religion, science and the arts and turn to what might be called the practical-theoretical sphere associated with a civilization's understanding of power. After all, power is eminently a matter of practice because it is associated with getting things done by manipulating individuals or groups to do the bidding of other individuals or groups. While the historical study of war demonstrates an extreme form of this attempt at manipulation, one must also recognize that sociopolitical institutions and cultural...