Power and Corruption

History > Leaders
Literature > English
Literature > Greek and Roman

This paper considers the corrupting influence of power, by focusing on two examples from literature and two from modern history.

1,508 words () | 5 sources | MLA | 2008 Bangladesh

Paper Summary:

The paper begins with Lord Acton's famous dictum "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely", but goes on to qualify this by saying that it is not power itself but the knowledge of power, or pride, that corrupts. The paper provides literary examples, namely, Clytemnestra in Aeschylus' tragic drama "Agamemnon" and Macbeth in Shakespeare's work of the same name. The paper then provides examples from modern history, namely, Josef Stalin and Margaret Thatcher and the writer describes how the characters are victim to the situation of power that they find themselves in.

From the Paper:

"I believe that Lord Acton is generally right when he says that "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely", but there must be a qualification added. If it were the case that power always corrupts then there would be nothing worthwhile ever achieved, for it requires power to accomplish any task. It would be more accurate to say that the knowledge of one's power tends to corrupt. To know that one is powerful is also to be proud, and therefore the root of corruption is pride, and the message then merges with the Biblical teaching that pride always precedes the fall. Those who bring great things in the world do so usually in the mode of modesty. They tend to attribute the great things to the Almighty while thinking themselves mere instruments."

Sample of Sources Used:

Aeschylus. The Oresteian Trilogy. Translated by Philip Vellacott. New York: Penguin Classics, 1959.
Goebel, Greg. "Stalin's Terror." The Great Patriotic War. Accessed on 15 March 2008. <http://www.vectorsite.net/twsnow_01.html>
Harris, Robin. "The war that made Thatcher and put iron back into Britain." The Independent on Sunday. Sunday, 1 April 2007. Internet. <http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/robin-harris-the-war-that-made-thatcher-and-put-iron-back-into-britain-442702.html>
"Margaret Thatcher." British Broadcasting Corporation. Internet. Accessed on 16 March 2008. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/thatcher_margaret.shtml>
Shakespeare, William. "Macbeth." Shakespeare's Tragedies. Ed. Peter Alexander. London and Glasgow: Collins, 1966.