Does Power Have The Ability To Corrupt? “BOOM! That’s your story.” Mr. Whitmore stated, as he concluded his explanation on how our simple conversation could be used as my personal narrative portion of an essay. “Wait, really?” I excitedly responded. “I mean you did not have ultimate power over me as you held up that piece of gum, but you definitely had a good amount. Thankfully we have established that the power is back in my hands, but when you had power you did not let it corrupt you that’s why this can be used in your essay.” Mr. Whitmore elaborated. I sat there in thought for several seconds, then decided that I would use our conversation as my example. “Mr. Whitmore, I am gonna use this as my example.” I stated. “Sweet! Now, since power is back in my hands. Write your essay!” Mr. Whitmore shouted with excitement. That small amount of power …show more content…
Ultimate power is the complete control over a certain individual, group of individuals, or even a situation. Many figures throughout history have received great amounts of power, and they all reacted in different ways. Some of them acted on positive concepts and others did not. A great deal of power has the ability to influence one’s decisions, but it will not always directly corrupt those who receive it. Mother Teresa would be a perfect example to support the idea that great amounts of power is not corrupting. An autobiography about Mother Teresa is then used to elaborate the idea that Mother Teresa was not corrupted by power. Mother Teresa acted as a hospice that tended to those who were ill. Due to this she received many rewards for her hospitable acts, but she still remained humble through it all. “Over the course of the 1950s and 1960s, she established a leper colony, an orphanage, a nursing home, a family clinic and a string of mobile health clinics.” ("Mother Teresa). Over her time as a
Throughout history, people have gone crazy over power, making them do things that they would have never done. Stories have been written, wars have been fought, and even families destroyed over the struggle for power. Desiring power is part of our human nature, everyone wants it, and what one does while in power, is often attempts to gain more. Even the most paramount leaders can become corrupt, leaving their legacy resonating through history. A common theme throughout our history is the abuse of power. It is often that societies find that their highly elected officials have broken laws to a large degree. With superfluous power, there is an abuse of power. Human nature is to covet power, and when someone feels power, it makes them go ballistic over it, eventually, leading to that power becoming corrupt.
There are many examples, throughout history, of leaders who have been corrupted with power. For example, people like Hitler and Napoleon have all committed shameful actions in the hopes of gaining absolute power. Authority, or simply the desire of control, can cause people to act in incomprehensible ways. Throughout the play Macbeth, written by playwright Shakespeare, the desire for absolute power is the main driving force for the two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. They are consumed with a great craving for ultimate rule, and are willing to achieve it by whatever means necessary. Power had corrupted the thoughts, actions and behaviors of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, and as a
As evidenced from multiple books, power is something that is easy to abuse. When an individual is given the ability to control the masses, it can be used incorrectly. Power can lead to abusiveness, irresponsibility, and overconfidence.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Power serves no purpose but to be used. Through usage, it becomes a magnifying glass capable of analyzing the psyche of the one in power. Because of the horrendous acts of some of the tainted minds power has unraveled, society often arrives at the maximum: power corrupts. Although there are those in power who chose to use it as a ways of self-interest, it is the mindset of the person that serves as the bases of corruption, not the access to power.
Support the statement “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” with reference from Macbeth.
We all know a wrongful person that uses their power in the wrong way. There are many forms of power that people abuse that can destroy our society. There are people in this world that absolutely do not deserve power, yet they have authority over us.
Today, we see a lot of people in power. Some of those people know how to use their power. Others do not. Power in cases throughout history or in literature is good while other times that power is abused and turns out to be dangerous which leads to bad. However, today, we are seeing power in the “bad light”. With power being taken to another level for the worse or power that causes all out chaos, power shows the bad in people.
"Tonight, the management don't want to spread this, that's why you are getting a deal" worry and wonder appeared in his eyes thank god he is taking this with calm.
As Sir Ferdinand Dalberg-acton said, “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Once people get a small taste of power, they become desperate for more. A great example of corruption from power is Tom Riddle turning into Voldemort in the Harry Potter series. Tom was a regular student at Hogwarts until he got a taste of dark magic. This was his source of power.
Power can corrupt many people and also very important leaders. They can use it to gain personally, might engage in wrong behavior, and ignore the public’s concerns. To simmer all this down to a point, power corruption is not good. We can all focus on trying to stop, these types of leaders from getting into office. I’m going to give you information, as to why they become corrupt and how stop it.
When someone has too much power it can have a negative effect on others because all of that power ends up fueling their ego.
I believe the issue of a corrupt government stems from the lack of education in
No one would ever argue that power does not corrupt. We see examples of corruption caused by power every day when we turn on the news- dictators ruling over the lives of their citizens with an iron fist, CEOs with billions of dollars cutting jobs because their companies are somehow not “turning a profit,” and countless other examples. While they all vary in degrees of egregiousness, there is no denying that a desire for power in different forms - usually money - is the root cause of these acts. To ask the question as to whether it is possible that a lack of power could corrupt more, requires more thought into the issue.
“Power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupt power”(Gaddis). This quote closely relates to the characters in the novel Gangsta Rap who at first are very cautious with the wealth that their success but some also get corrupted by that same power. In this novel there are many times that power is constructive but also multiple times when that same power becomes destructive the best examples of this are: when some Characters use their money and influence for good, when some characters use their money and influence for bad, and also when some characters are willing to do anything to keep that power.
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” means an observation that a person’s sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. The statement was made by Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Absolute monarchies are those in which all power is given to or; as is more often the case, taken by, the monarch. Examples of absolute power corrupting are Roman emperor, who declared themselves gods and Napoleon Bonaparte, who declared himself an emperor.