preview

Power Corrupts Essays

Decent Essays

Power Corrupts

Throughout the history of man, rulers and philosophers have proven that power corrupts. The British Historian Lord Acton observed that “power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Lord Acton statement is proven through the actions of rulers such as Charles I of England and Hitler.

In a letter to his friend Lord Acton wrote that “power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely”. This quote describes how absolute power always becomes corrupt. Lord Acton recognized the dangers of political power. He understood that rulers put their own interest above all and will do just about anything to stay in power. He believed that wars were always started to …show more content…

In 1642, he was finally overthrown in a civil war against forces led by Oliver Cromwell, who later removed the Parliament by force. Charles I is an obvious example of the corruption of power[3].

The Actions of Hitler also confirms Lord Acton’s theory. Hitler aimed to increase his powers by increasing the size of Germany. Even though Hitler had incredible power he wanted to continuously expand it. The German bourgeoisie paid a heavy price for handing power to Hitler. Once in power, the Nazi bureaucracy could not be controlled by the ruling class. They were guided by their own interests, which did not coincide with those of the bourgeoisie. As long as Hitler protected them against Bolshevism, the German capitalists were happy to back him up. As long as Hitler's armies were advancing, they joined in the applause and salutes. The United Nations was formed after the Second World War and part of the reason to why it was formed was to look out for a repeat of Hitler. Today in the United States of America, what president George Bush has done is essentially the same as Hitler. He conquered and invaded a country because of self interests. He justifies himself by claiming to lead a democracy into Afghanistan. The truth of the matter is that he still invaded a country without the authorisation of the UN. Lord Acton theory that power corrupts was

Get Access