The Quest for "Power"

I have stumbled upon a few books, namely 12 Rules for Life, The 48 Laws of Power, and The Art of War which despite their rampant popularity, left a bad taste in my mouth.

They endorse the use of deception and of violating the golden rule of treating other how you would like to be treated.

I understand that this behaviour may be useful to "get results" and "obtain power", but is it worth the cost of hurting others and negatively affecting the trust which people have in you?

If people continuing to be rewarded for carrying on like petulant children to gets results, they will continue to behave in such away. A positive feedback loop of behaving unethically.

We should choose not to reward this type of behaviour, and when on the receiving end of someone trying to wield their power, should choose to delay or ignore in an effort to break the cycle.