Absolute Power In George Orwell's Animal Farm

John Dalberg-Acton famously said, “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This quote explores the idea of absolute power in relation to the corruption of one’s morality. In the novel, Animal Farm by George Orwell, after driving Mr. Jones from the farm, the animals seize power and form their own government. Unprincipled social and political orders are shown to cause moral corruption of those who hold power, which can ultimately lead to the downfall of a society. The corruption of morals as a result of power is shown throughout the rivalry between Napoleon and Snowball, the subsequent exile of Snowball, and the act of Napoleon forcing the seven commandments onto the animals, only to end up abandoning them himself. In

The rivalry gets the best of Napoleon, causing him to focus on what is best for his climb to power, subsequently causing the beginning of his moral corruption. The rivalry between the two pigs is established early on in the novel when it is said that, “Snowball was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same depth of character.” (Orwell 7). This shows the difference between the two pigs. Snowball is shown to be an ethical and spirited candidate for leader of the farm as opposed to the power-hungry, amoral Napoleon. Snowball wanted the farm to succeed and focused on improving the farm and the life of the animals rather than focusing on his own rise to power. However, Napoleon’s main focus was gaining power, no matter what it took. Though this would later prove to contribute to the farm’s downfall, Napoleon’s desire for power made him seem fit to be leader. It does not take long for Napoleon to become threatened by Snowball. This is evident when it is said that, “At the meetings Snowball often won over the majority by his brilliant speeches, but Napoleon was better at canvassing support for himself in between times.” (Orwell 20). Napoleon’s thirst for power allows him to