Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely Essay Sample

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority...” - John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. (From www.wikipedia.com). It is inevitable that with power, comes corruption. Morals, like empathy, obtain great leaders' authority. Once a person has the experience of being in power, leaders tend to lose sight of others and act in avaricious ways, which is why absolute power corrupts absolutely, it leads to self-seeking decision making, chicanery, and more opportunity for corruption.

Absolute power leads to self-seeking decision-making. Page 59 of Animal Farm by George Orwell says,” Throughout the spring and summer they had worked a sixty-hour week, and in August Napoleon announced there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well. This work was strictly voluntary but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half.” In Animal Farm, Napolean, who beguiled his way into power, takes advantage of the other animals' desire to not be slaves to Farmer Jones any longer. As the plot develops, it is evident that Napoleon's best interest is not in the Animal Farm or his peers, rather his personal gain. This delineates his reasoning for bribing the animals to do extra work, or practically starve, while he lives lavishly, going against almost everything the Animal Farm stood for after the initial revolution. By definition, to be corrupt is to have or show a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain. This excerpt from Animal Farm exemplifies absolute power corrupting absolutely because the individual in charge was brutal, and unfair for the good of himself.

Absolute power leads to chicanery and corrupts absolutely. In many cases, leaders become dishonest to further their own agenda. A conspicuous way for a leader to do this would be by using propaganda, and modern-day news media is the most efficient way to spread it. Why? It’s easily attainable for most people, and it spreads quickly. On social media, for example, it is very easy to glamorize certain topics. Most people will join the bandwagon, without actually inquiring about these topics, because in today's world, having an opinion that differs from what someone with a large social media platform tells you to believe, isn’t considered “socially acceptable”. It is disheartening but truthful that most people are more solicitous about being considered socially acceptable, than aware of real-world problems. Putting public figures on this pedestal encourages them to do whatever it takes, like being deceptive, to get the most attention, the most votes, or have the most followers, whatever it may be depending on the person. With all of this being said, chicanery goes hand in hand with dishonesty, and any dishonest leader with absolute power, is absolutely corrupt.

Absolute power leads to more opportunities for corruption. “Don’t Let Power Corrupt You” by Dacher Keltner From the Magazine (October 2016) (www.harvard business review.com) says,” The powerful are more likely than other people to engage in rude, selfish, and unethical behavior. The 19th-century historian and politician Lord Acton got it right: Power does tend to corrupt.” Also, (www.harvard kennedy school.com) Inequality and Corruption says,” The rich are likely to both have greater motivation and opportunities to engage in bribery and fraud as one means to preserve and advance their status, privileges, and interests while the poor are more vulnerable to extortion at higher levels of inequality.” Both quotes demonstrate the negative ways leaders behave once they get the opportunity to be in power. More opportunity is presented to those who are privileged, and naturally, these individuals become corrupt because they don’t want to be taken out of this position of power, and less privileged people are left extremely vulnerable. So the more power predisposed to these leaders, the more opportunities for fraudulent behavior arises.

Corruption is many things, and none of them are positive. It is dishonesty, it is manipulation, it is bribery, it is falsification, and it is selfish. Nothing good comes from an amoral leader. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, it leads to self-seeking decision making, chicanery, and more opportunity for corruption.