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The purpose of power in society
Power and society
Power in society Essay
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Power is the ability to control or influence others, especially socially or politically. We often hear of the horror stories, in which corrupt dictators with too much power kill innocent citizens, eliminate all competition, and hurt others for personal gain. Power itself is not necessarily the bad thing here; it comes as an instinctive need to humans, rooted in the primal purpose of survival (Anchor text). The abuse of power leads to corruption. Power is an unstable force that can have positive or negative outcomes, depending on why it was sought and the attitude of those on the receiving end of the control. In many religions, man is divided into the physical animal soul and non-physical godly soul. The animal soul is in charge of survival, …show more content…
When someone’s personalized power dominates socialized, the balance between animal and godly soul is thrown off to favor the animal soul, he or she becomes corrupt (Source B, Anchor text). They only look out for their own good, regardless of how their actions can negatively impact others. An evil person with supreme power can afford to be corrupt because no one can punish them. Because of this, “they focus on their own egocentric desires and [are unable] to see others' perspectives” (Source B). They exploit the helpless people that let them lead, making a selfish, evil system out of their …show more content…
A leader needs followers; their power would have no purpose if they have no one to influence. Once someone who is power-thirsty gains it, “they cannot be corrupt because the people underneath [them] must have the willingness to allow [them] to remain in that position” (Source B). Power is volatile; its security comes with how much constituents trust their leader. In the song “Viva la Vida”, a lyric states “and I discovered that my castles stand upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand” (Source C). The singer realized that his reign was weak; the only thing holding it together was the people. They are the ones directly impacting how much power one can
What is power to a human? As time has gone by, there have been many forms of control and influence in the world. Many strive to achieve total rule over a society or group of individuals. Yet the question still presents itself to the average man. Why does man desire power so greatly even though there is visible trouble that follows? Shelley’s Frankenstein, Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”, and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, whether through the situation or the character themselves, depict the evils and hardships due to an imbalance and poor management of power.
Power. It is defined as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Throughout time, certain individuals have acquired power in their society as a way to govern and keep order among their community. Power is not a new concept; it was used in the past by many emperors, kings, and queens, and is still being used by presidents, prime ministers, and dictators. Although, it has been used to further progress societies into what the world is like today, not all power has been used for the best of mankind. But what goes awry to make power turn corrupt? In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, it is illustrated how power can turn corrupt, when authoritative figures, who possess power, abuse it for their personal gain, rather than for the common good of the society.
Power is authority and strength, which is any form of motive force or energy, ability to act, or control. When too much power is given, a dictatorship government can form, in which all decisions are made by one authority. In the book Animal Farm, by George Orwell the author portrays how “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Lord Acton).
...recognizes their power they can use it to control other and in doing so benefit themselves, but if another individual recognizes the corruption, they are made out to be nothing by the powerful individual by using his power to influence others ideas.
When individuals come into a position of power, where the definition of control becomes a new one according to their own point of view, they usually open a feeling in their minds that what ever decision they make that directly conflicts the lives of other people, that they shouldn’t feel responsible at all. That’s when power corrupts the minds of these people.
Power has always been seen as the killer of morality. Powerlessness, however, allows and almost encourages a leader to use his strength to his advantage. The ascent to despotism may begin by instituting slightly stricter laws that give
Yancey writes “Power, no matter how well-intentioned, tends to cause suffering” (205). I agree with this because no matter how much power you have, in the end it hurts you. Having too much power is bad for you and others because they would put themselves before others. Also, the person who has power will think they are better than others. This is similar to the play Macbeth. Macbeth became the heir, but he gained nothing from it
Power is a difficult concept to define conclusively or definitively however, Bourdieu explains power to be a symbolic construct that is perpetuated through every day actions and behaviours of a society, that manipulate power relations to create, maintain and force the conforming of peoples to the given habitus of that society (Bourdieu, 1977). Power, is a force created through the
Politics are dishonest and underhanded in every aspect of its existence. It’s been that way from the times of the earliest civilizations to the current day governments. Power is a strong motivator for human nature and that hasn’t changed throughout the generations. Ruthless rulers have gone down in history for either bad deeds or their rise to power. A excellent example is none other than the infamous Julius Caesar. He didn't commit a horrible deed during his rein. This is because he was stabbed with “twenty-three blows” (Wasson) by a group of conspirators, therefore he did not commit an unforgivable crime. His rise to power is full of lies and flattery, a constant battle much like Queen Elizabeth I. After a series of plots
the lust for power is the driving force of tyranny, even those who fight against tyranny have a desire for power — with one crucial difference: they desire to rule only themselves, not others. Individuals with an elevated need for power are keenly aware of their place in the social hierarchy, as their motives are the innate incentives that determine their day-to-day behavior. This desire to gain authority, seeking neither recognition nor approval from others — simply agreement and compliance is evident in characters such as the
Some say powerlessness corrupts because the powerlessness end up beaten and detached from society. However, Lord Acton, a learned personality of the nineteenth century, stated, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” His words claimed people with too much power would inevitably abuse their control. Although the powerlessness may be perceived as helpless and limited in control, power corrupts more because people of power are the source of the corruption. As catalysts, those of power do not have to choose faulty decisions, yet sometimes do with the knowledge of the consequences.
Power has been defined as the psychological relations over another to get them to do what you want them to do. We are exposed to forms of power from the time of birth. Our parents exercise power over us to behave in a way they deem appropriate. In school, teachers use their power to help us learn. When we enter the work world the power of our boss motivates us to perform and desire to move up the corporate ladder so that we too can intimidate someone with power one day. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Kurtz had a power over the jungle and its people that was inexplicable.
"Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it" [Lord Acton, British Historian]. It is human nature that the more power one desires, the more corrupt actions they have to commit to attain power. Power is the ability to have control over people and/or things. People who are powerful can, and in most cases will, create an illusion of anything they want you to see about them. This illusion can make people blind to their true intentions.
As we begin to delve into the source of power corruption we first have to look at the person’s character. As found in research by Katherine A. DeCelles and her colleagues people with low morality or character resulted in them responding badly to power, while those with high morality or character responded much better to power. Even though this was on a fairly small scale character is still a very important part in not only choosing a leader, but also judging how they will respond to power. However just because you have good character
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolute. ”(Lord Acton) Power has the ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Most people who have power eventually fall into the need of more power and become corrupted. This will happen to anyone in a powerful position. Power will corrupt.