When bad people come into positions of power they tend to corrupt?

When bad people come into positions of power, what they tend to corrupt first – or as soon as they are able – are the means or the social systems by which power is attained and held. The electoral process in the US is a prime example (campaign financing, gerrymandering, etc.), and the financial system right behind it. Exactly.

Why does power corrupt?

Power “corrupts” because we are born corrupt and because power gives the opportunity and impetus to act without fear of negative consequences. Power merely allows a pre-existing condition to appear in a more obvious, forceful, and destructive way.

Who said power tends to corrupt?

“Power tends to corrupt,” said Lord Acton, the 19th-century British historian. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Does absolute power corrupt absolutely?

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” His maxim has been vividly illustrated in psychological studies, notably the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, which was halted when one group of students arbitrarily assigned to serve as “prison guards” over another group began to abuse their wards.

Does power corrupt everyone equally?

But power does not corrupt everyone equally. There’s no way the small group of participants in the Stanford Prison Experiment represented the full range of human personality variation. For one, these were young males. Already, there is going to be higher levels of testosterone, on average, than most other populations.

Is power inherently good or evil?

Here’s something we’ve found: power isn’t inherently good or evil. Yes, it’s true that power fundamentally alters perception. As Adam Galinsky and colleagues put it, “powerful people roam in a very different psychological space than those without power.”