Does Power Corrupt

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Does Power Corrupt? Lord Acton has said that “Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”. The abuse of power by those in power has caused great suffering and is one of the most common themes of history and politics. But unfortunately the list of leaders who were not eventually corrupted by their power is rather short and it seems to be a fundamental human fallacy that people are seduced by power and once they conquer it, it corrupts their character. Resisting the temptation to abuse one’s power is a challenge that only few people live up to if given the chance to do so without danger. The main goal of powerful leaders, should be to allow their people to pursue their own prosperity. Sadly, both moral and monetary corruption, are common in communistic regimes and dictatorships that started off promising prosperity and equality. History has shown, that the best way to prevent abuse of power is a constitution, free elections and an independent court system, which prevents a ruler from giving into the temptation of gaining absolute power. There are two main types of corruption - monetary and moral corruption. Monetary corruption is basically when people in powerful positions abuse their power for their own good and by doing so, they ignore what is right. Stealing from the people is the most simple and common type of monetary corruption. King Louis XIV of France who famously said “I’m the state” felt he could rightfully do and take whatever he wanted because France belonged to him. Moral corruption is when a person in a powerful position abuses his or her power by performing or allowing unmoral acts. These rulers are morally corrupt, because their laws and decisions are based on their personal opinion and beliefs. They are only good at keeping their power, not at fostering

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