John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, a notable British Historian, is perhaps best known for his phrase: "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely". The truth and reason behind this phrase is clearly evident, as there have been a number of infamous rulers who have failed to resist the pull of power. One of these egregious monarchs was President Suharto from Indonesia, who had committed heinous crimes and actrocities in order to remain in his position of power. He was never put on trial for his actions, as he had gained immense power, but at the cost of his moral ego. This notorious ruler is an example of how power causes corruption, which in turn thins the lines between what is morally right and wrong. Although, it is common belief that power corrupts those who are innately evil. This statement has been disproven numerous times, as power can affect the minds of those with good intentions. These men may have initially started out with exceptional motives and an intent to guide the actions of others, but this soon became blurred as they started to shift towards the idea of power. While they may have wanted to only improve the state of others, they had to also enforce more strict laws and impose …show more content…
In this manner, a monarch with political power could choose to allow each and every individual he ability to do as he chooses, as long as the motives of this individual doesn't affect the goals of another person. However, the concept may seem useless to a person who wishes to excercise his political power on his fellow man, as he believes he can't help others by doing absolutely nothing. This may cause him to end up as a grain of sand in the sandlot of history, as well as a useless leader with no purpose. Thus, sparking the idea of imposing stricter laws, that force others to become accomodated with his own beliefs and
The corruptive nature of power can be observed in both novels Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945) and The Wave by Todd Strasser (1981). In the wise words of Lord Acton, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." (Phrase Finder, 2012) The simple nature of mankind is to want power and when man achieves this, he gets addicted, wants more and thus becomes corrupt. This exploitation of dominance relates to when the dictator loses his moral values and abuses power purely for his own benefit and loses sight of what the initial goals were. Even the best intentions, such as those that were only just formed in Animal Farm and The Wave, can be distorted by the basic human instinct of selfishness
... the traditional views about people with political power and their expected behaviours as they were morally corrupted and abusive of their powers.
Corruption is a common event that has happened many times in various countries. There are different types of corruption that can happen, and each type has different effects on countries and the people within them. The overall theme of corruption used in Latin American literature describes three different emotions as an effect of the corruption. The author Claribel Alegria wrote three poems that show corruption causing depression within the country, war corruption causing guilt within the participants, and self corruption causing envy within themselves.
I believe that the authors of these texts are putting forward the message that true power is something that is innate in people, not something that can be achieved in the ways that the General, and Lucas Carle did. Where the power lies in a certain situation is not always where it first seems most obvious.
Power is earned, not given. There are many different types of power that people can earn. Power becomes a problem when it is not questioned or tested. Therefore, the one with the power would have total control over anything or anyone they wanted, or they would feel that way. People with power feel invincible when it is not questioned. Throughout history it has been proven that this creates a problem. For example, Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal is similar to the scandal with Father Flynn in Doubt. Doubt, by John Patrick Shanley, exemplifies an underlying message that unquestioned faith leads to abuse of power. Specifically, shown in Father Flynn’s reputation, cover up, and resignation, which all correlate to Richard Nixon’s Watergate Scandal.
The more power one desires, the more corrupt actions one takes to fulfill those desires. In William Shakespeare’s tragic play, “Macbeth” the main character, Macbeth, becomes hungry for power which ultimately leads him to his tragic death. This is shown through the use of foreshadowing and apostrophe to prove Shakespeare’s theme that the gaining of more power leads to more corrupt influences. It is evident that there is no positive outcome from the craving of power and the act of doing morally or ethically corrupt activities in order to achieve a higher place in society.
Friedrich Nietzsche once provided one of the truest opinions on power that the world has ever heard when he said, “All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth”. The promises and truths that those who gain power spread to their people are not always for the greater good. The worst leaders of people are the ones that put more effort and thought into jerking off their own ego rather than putting any real heartfelt effort into helping their people. These sociopathic evil dictators use their power to try and brainwash the minds of people who have to live under them with their own beliefs and hidden agendas, foolishly believing that they are a “savior”. There has yet to be a situation with a leader of a community who has this type of unchecked power and influence with a happy ending. Perhaps the greatest story ever written about good vs. evil, madness, abuse of power along with influence, and nature just might be Heart of Darkness. Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad tells the story of an agent named Marlow, who experiences hellish conditions and behaviors whilst trying to rescue a man named Kurtz, who turns out to be quite a handful. Throughout this journey the moral ramifications of both Kurtz and Marlow’s actions are left to be interpreted by the audience after Kurtz goes mad and becomes the catalyst of the events that transpire throughout the plot. Conrad uses his real life events along with themes of greed, power, and obsession to show what causes Kurtz who acts a symbol for the leaders of the real world to go mad and abuse power.
The statement, “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”, simply means that the more power one has – the more control one has over people – then the more corrupt it is possible for that person to become. This statement is certainly correct if the person with the power has certain proclivities towards corruption. There are many examples in the book, “Animal Farm”, by George Orwell, of power corrupting those in charge because they had these tendencies. In the story, the most powerful animals are the two pigs, Napoleon and, to a lesser degree, Snowball. During the course of the story these pigs used their power to get more power, and in the process their inclinations towards corruption triumphed. When Old Major, the boar who came up with the idea of all animals uniting against humans, died, Napoleon and Snowball saw an opportunity where they could take control and took it. Napoleon used force to get rid of Snowball and take all the power for himself, and he used fear to keep the other animals from revolting. He used scapegoats so that he could not be blamed for anything that went wrong, and propaganda to brainwash the animals into loyal slaves. Napoleon changed and broke the commandments of Animal Farm to benefit himself, and he lacked empathy for all those who worked hard for him, executing those that might cause him trouble.
They were able to connect their suffering, their personal problems to a greater level. They could link the distal relations of power to their own immediate situations (Naimen, 7). By studying power and the control it can have over people, and by looking into the past, we can see how that type of control can lead to terrible outcomes for both small groups and society as a whole. We have come to know that every individual life, from one generation to the next, in society has lived it out within some historical sequence merely by the fact that people live, they contribute, no matter how minutely, to the shaping of their society and to the course of its history (Mills, N/A). So by making sure power is used in a way that does not interfere with this idea we can see when critical issues, which span throughout time, do not have to continue. They can in fact be stopped before having and wide ranging detrimental effects if we learn to understand how to use power through studying it over time.
In conclusion, the human ambition for increased amount of power and influence causes the degradation of morality. This is proven through Macbeth’s new found untrustworthiness, his transformation into a deceitful tyrant and his loss of meaning for his life, and the lives of others. It is clear that power can transform all those who seek to gain and/or control it drastically.
if the governed do not follow these rules then the ruler(s) may seem to be equal to them. It is a good
As shown in literature, corruption and the abuse of power is an ongoing discussion. When it comes down to the point where people are being used and abused physically and psychologically, it creates a hostile environment for both the subjects and the abuser. As represented in the two similar texts Lord Of the Flies and “I Only Came to use the Phone”, corrupted authority and abuse of power usually end up leading to the collapse of a society or a world of chaos and violence.
...leveled individuals to fight and ultimately putting their lives in risks. Most of the time, theses individuals in power tend to abuse and hurt others into getting what they desire. Also, as seen through all religions, greed can be used as to manipulate people into something that would benefit them in the future. The idea that when power can result in good "unbounded" seems typical, but with what sacrifice must happen for this good? As seen in the novella Kurtz had paid the price; Kurtz became hollow and corrupted and began to slowly die. Benjamin Frankly states that "With great power comes with great responsibility" with power and as well as greed it does need a greater responsibility as well as greed. Greed and some power can be used as catalyst towards that goal but to much of these two or them both together can easily demoralize them and simply make them hollow.
What circumstances has dictated that a person be marked a tyrant? This question is most commonly answered by how a person flaunted their given power. Throughout the course of history, the notion of obtaining power has been a common theme. Kings have invaded lands, nobles have betrayed their leaders, and Princes have killed their fathers all in the name of everlasting power. The question, however, is why humanity has had an unquenchable thirst for power. Many playwrights have explored this particular motif in their plays. The character Macbeth from Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth is a prime example of this characterization. Macbeth has the scourge of the earth and his motivation for his actions unethical. Although Macbeth actions were sinful,
For an unjust leader equates an unjust law which is "a code that is out of harmony with the moral law"(King 207). When there is any kind of injustice in a system, especially in the centre of it all, the whole system would collapse, the oppressed would seek for justice in one way or another, the loyal supporters would loose faith in the leader, the leader cannot contain the people, and the system would crumble into bits just like the Roman Empire. When situations get bad "so long as a he keeps his subjects united and loyal, a prince ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty" (Machiavelli 180), said Machiavelli, is not an acceptable style either for it simply means that a ruler can do whatsoever-he-seeks-fit. An ideal ruler should be wise enough to know that just because majourity is happy and that there seems to be uniformity in the nations does not mean that all is well; the oppressed could be patient for some time to just maintain order, but that poise is not always maintained-demonstrations are ultimately the end results of such