Does Power Always Corrupt the One Who Holds It?

Chelsey Schmitt                     Does Power Always Corrupts the One                    April 16, 2013       

       Who Holds It?

 

 

            “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  This is a quote from John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton. Is what John is saying true? Does power always corrupt? These are the questions I’ll be trying to answer.

              Absolute power is being able to do anything you want without question. This can be dangerous to a person and others involved with them. With saying that, there are also some upsides that come along with power. There are two kinds of power – personalized power and socialized power. One is clearly the good kind and the other is clearly the bad kind. I will explain how each of these powers work and their effects.

 The first kind of power is personalized power which is the negative kind. This is the kind of power that people use for personal gain, usually at the expense of others. These kinds of people get away with using power for personal reasons because their “followers” tend to believe what they are doing is okay because that person is in power for a reason. When you are in the presence of a leader using personalized power, understand that if you think what is happening is wrong, you should take a stand and do something about it.

 A common reason people want power for selfish reasons is simply just to have power. They just want power to have it and have no intentions of using it to benefit others. For these people, power can be like a drug. Once these types of people have a taste of power, they want more and then can’t stop, like it’s an addiction. They might then be into their “power trip” so deep that they can’t stop and even start to believe there is nothing wrong in what they are doing. An example of someone who has been corrupted with power is a store manager that treats employees below them poorly because he feels that he is superior to them, or takes credit for the work that his employees do.  When people use power for personal reasons, they are almost definitely going to be corrupted and I think people who use personalized power should not have the privilege of power.

 On the other hand, there is a kind of power that is used positively. This kind of power is called socialized power. Socialized power is when someone uses their position of power to benefit others. They usually use their power effectively to get the job done. They have the best interests of others in mind and are not just in it for themselves. These kinds of people have not been corrupted by power. They are smart, possess good moral values and are strong enough to hold their ground and not let power take them over. The fact that there are people out there that are using their power for the good of others makes me believe that power doesn’t always corrupt.

 In our society, there are many positions of power, such as the Prime Minister, school principals and presidents of businesses. Positions of power are important in our society to maintain control and provide direction. We must be careful in picking and monitoring our leaders to ensure they are using socialized power and not personalized power.

 In this essay I have shown both kinds of power, good and bad. I have made points that, yes, power can corrupt the one who holds it, but not necessarily all the time. Power can be extremely dangerous but it is also an important part of our society. Power can lead to chaos and problems but, without it, there would be no control or order in the world. It is all our jobs to make sure we don’t let power get into the wrong hands. Power is powerful and we always need to be aware of and be careful with it.