Power Always Corrupts the One Who
Holds It
Everyone
knows the saying “With great power comes great responsibility.” And throughout history,
this has been a hot topic. In fact, it has been debated upon, proven and
repeated numerous times by every living being in our world. As people get more power,
there are three main sequences that happen. The person will start getting
arrogant and will depend on their own judgement. Then, the person will start to
abuse his or her power and make impactful decisions. Finally, the person will
become fully corrupted and will become a tyrant if they are around others
weaker than them. However, this is preventable if the person is not left alone
with power.
If people
are left with power and freedom, they will gain vanity as they take pride in
their accomplishments and possessions. An example is found in Julius Caesar, by
William Shakespeare. In act one, Caesar thinks so highly of himself that he
does not even interact with the Soothsayer, who is warning him. He only gets
the Soothsayers message when Brutus delivers it. In addition, he sometimes
speaks about himself in third person. This symbolizes that he thinks of himself
as a god or a being of mass authority, even though he is just a powerful human
ruler. People with freedom and power like Julius Caesar are almost certainly
satisfied, and will do a lot in order to keep them. Thus, corruption ensues.
After the
person begins to be proud of themselves, their actions will show this. This is
where it is not only small comments or thoughts. This means decisions about how
their surrounding area is run. For example, after the French Revolution,
Napoleon took over France entirely after seeing that the directors were
corrupted. He had the audacity to do this because he thought of himself as a good
supreme ruler. In the beginning of his rule, Napoleon started out well. This
was because he shared power with his advisors. However, he later absorbed all
power for himself because he was caught in ambition. Eventually, this led to
his dictatorship of France. This stage is where the person with power begins to
make meaningful decisions with negative impacts to all surrounding people.
As people
are left to keep gaining power, they will most likely end up as a tyrant. If
their power was controlled earlier however, they would not have any chance of
becoming corrupted. This is because power is the basis of control and
leadership. Napoleon’s power was not controlled in time for him not to become a
dictator. On the other hand, Julius Caesar was killed by Conspirators as his
power and support from the mass public was rising. The Senate was the
replacement for him and because it was a special group it was not as corrupted
as Caesar. This is due to the fact the Senate has a share in power and the
leader is not a person, but it is the majority of votes. Therefore, Rome was
saved from a complete dictatorship.
Power is
necessary to lead a group, as without it, a group could not function and it
would be in anarchy. However, there needs to be a limit on how power is given,
because it can blind the one who holds it. Without this control, the person
will likely go down the path of becoming a total dictator. No one is perfect,
and past events like Julius Caesar and Napoleon have proven that no one can
lead a large group of people alone. This is why co-operation and teamwork is so
highly praised.
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