What comes first, power or corruption? It has been said that power is one of the most desired things that a person could obtain, opening up worlds of opportunities to its holder. Power can be described as the concept of an ability to control or influence situations or people, often in politics or social settings. Many also believe that it can lead to corruption of its holder, as demonstrated by historian Sir John Dalberg-Acton, when he stated, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” However, is his statement true? Power is a very fickle thing, but does it really come before corruption in the grand scheme of things? Many may argue that politicians’ power caused them to become corrupt individuals with immoral behaviours and ethics, but the connection between possessing power and being corrupt is not a strong one. Rather, power itself does not corrupt its holder; instead, power gives people the means to act corruptly. This statement can be further illustrated by looking into what the concept of power exactly is, how people in positions of power can use or abuse their gift, and glancing into the arguably twisted world of politics.
How can power be blamed for all wrongdoings of humanity? Power is merely a tool that may be utilised for positive or negative actions. There is no reason for power to directly cause unethical or immoral behaviour, instead serving as the means to an end. Whether that end is detrimental to people or not, is not directly linked to possessing power. Perhaps, rather than power itself, the journey to obtaining it is more likely to corrupt an individual. This could be due to the fact that in many cases, people do some questionable things to gain such power. For example, in order to become a successful politician, one may lie to voters during the election process in order to present oneself in a better light. This does not mean that the concept of power has corrupted you, instead, you became corrupted because of your desire for power. Once you are settled into your authority, your newfound ability to do as you please does not necessarily mean that you are going to do horrible things to others or manipulate people into bad situations. Power heightens pre-existing ethical tendencies and characteristics, it does not create new ones.
Many people, when put into positions of power, find themselves with the freedom do anything that they wish to do. They hold authority over others, therefore, others cannot hold them accountable for their actions. This could lead the said person in power to behave in excess, and depending on their morals and ethics may either be positively or negatively affected by this newfound control. People take advantage of any authority they can grasp on to, and whether we choose to abuse this privilege is up to us, not determined or controlled by power itself. We can use power that comes in the form of wealth to give back to others and help society, not necessarily to tear it down. For example, Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, consistently gives to charities and even founded his own, along with his wife. It is called “Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation”, serving to reduce poverty in the world. Gates has donated over $28 billion towards various charitable organizations and is a prime example of how power can be used to benefit others.
Frequently in society we see the use of two different types of power; personal and socialized power. Personal power occurs when an individual uses the control that they have to personally benefit themselves, not others. For example, this could be done by a person in a high up political position to utilise their authority to make actions that would be only beneficial towards themselves. In contrast, socialized power is used to benefit others, not just the one who possesses the power. In fact, the use of socialized power might not benefit whoever is utilising their power at all. This type of power is what many people would like to see being utilised by politicians and world leaders. However, many politicians tend to act as if they are using socialized power even if the result of their endeavors are more beneficial to themselves than to society. This is sometimes referred to as “having your own agenda”, and is the reason that many would call the occupation of being a politician a corrupt and crooked one to be associated with. What this illustrates is that power offers opportunities, and how one decides to act upon these opportunities will determine whether or not the power is being used beneficially for the majority of people or not. However, it should not be automatically assumed that all politicians do not act to make the lives of their citizens better, improving them in any way. It is unfair to suggest that being a politician and having power that comes with the job would mean that such a person is definitely corrupt. Power does not corrupt people, rather, corrupt people abuse their power. What a person chooses to do with power they possess is up to what type of person they really are, not the authority that they have acquired.
As mentioned previously, power itself does not lead to corruption, it instead brings out pre-existing tendencies and characteristics that may have been acquired before or during the rise to it. The concept of power itself brings a lot of insight into how authority and control does not end in unethical behaviour. Power is a quality that can either be used for good or bad, and when used carefully can produce wonderful results and achievements. This all depends on the person who holds it, as such a person’s character traits will really influence how their authority is utilized. Politicians often come under scrutiny for abuse of power and being corrupted, and whether or not such a person really is corrupt depends on what type of power they employ, socialized or personal power. Many politicians may act as if their contributions serve only the public and will be beneficial to their citizens, while they may be using their higher-up status to personally benefit themselves instead. While this is corrupt behaviour, it has not necessarily arisen from the fact that they possess power. There is no way to say that such people would not act corruptly even if they did not have any authority. These facts showcase that while certain individuals may misuse power that they acquire, it does not itself cause corrupt behaviour. Power is what you make of it, and depending on the type of person that someone is, it could prove to be a gift larger than any other, if only you use it carefully.
