John Dalberg-Acton: The Power Of Corruption

Jake Habib
Mrs. Ottone
English IV
5 May 2016
The Power of Corruption “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” remarks John Dalberg-Acton, an English historian, writer, and politician of the 19th century. Many theorists have attempted to prove whether or not this is true, but no decisive conclusion has been, or can be, reached. Can every individual be coerced into immorality through power, or is each person defined by his or her own virtues, and those that have been corrupted by power already had a tendency for corruption? Surely among all the leaders of the world that have ever obtained power, there are examples of those who did not partake in unethical actions and remained true …show more content…
There are many immoral leaders that have committed any number of atrocities and human rights violations, but it can be more difficult to decipher which ones had already been immoral or were prone to these dastardly deeds, and which ones were truly corrupted by power, and would have not performed any of these criminal actions had they not gained power. Ricardo Blaug notes that power corrupted “Caligula, Tiberius, Robespierre, Hitler and Stalin, and perhaps also … Mugabe, Thatcher, Bush and Blair” (Blaug 8). Perhaps the most intriguing of all of these examples is Maximilien Robespierre, who coincidentally was followed shortly thereafter by Napoleon Bonaparte as the leader of France. What makes Robespierre such an excellent example is that he was once known as “the incorruptible”, having earned that nickname because of what his colleagues perceived as true and sincere moral ideologies. The nickname seems quite ironic now, given the facts of what occurred to France during the French …show more content…
I agree with the findings of Katherine DeCelles, Scott DeRue, Joshua Margolis, and Tera Ceranic, who stipulate after extensive research into the topic of power and its ability to corrupt that, “the psychological experience of power, although often associated with promoting self-interest, is associated with greater self-interest only in the presence of a weak moral identity. Furthermore, we propose that the psychological experience of power is associated with less self-interest in the presence of a strong moral identity” (DeCelles, et al. 681). Those who do not have strong morals are much more likely to succumb to corruption as they gain power, while those with a very strong moral compass, such as the aforementioned Nelson Mandela, will maintain their beliefs and resolve even when they gain more power and have the capacity to essentially do whatever they please. Although it is much easier to act in self-interest, there are people who are truly incorruptible, no matter how much power they are

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