Absolute Power

[Vmedvil2]

Some people say Absolute power, corrupts what do you think about the subject of people having absolute power? Do you think that Power has a innate corruption upon the human mind and psyche?

Edited August 26, 2018 by VictorMedvil

[exchemist]

Some people say Absolute power, corrupts what do you think about the subject of people having absolute power? Do you think that Power has a innate corruption upon the human mind and psyche?

That is certainly what Lord Acton thought. He went on to say, as a historian, that "great men" were almost always "bad men".

 

It seems to me that in practice it is hard to disentangle cause and effect. Those who seek absolute power seem to be invariably motivated by  base motives. So I suspect is Acton generally speaking right, simply because good people would not dream of seeking absolute power.

 

However, an interesting challenge to this reasoning would be in the case of absolute monarchies or appointments to the papacy, in which is it possible for an innately good person to be thrust into a position of near-absolute power, by chance rather than design.  History has some possible examples, for example Saint Louis, Edward the Confessor and Pope Gregory the Great. It does not seem that these people were corrupted by the power they had.  

 

(Acton was a Catholic, by the way, who had many disagreements with the church.)      

Edited August 26, 2018 by exchemist

[Vmedvil2]

Well, I was wondering to myself last night what sort of person may be able to rule a planet and whether the power would corrupt them according the Lord Action it would, it seems a Autarch would be out of the question if you wanted a "Gentle/Merciful" Leader generally you would by what Lord Action thought see monsters seek to be the Autarch and control a planet with Absolute Power. It is a unfortunate thing when it comes to to the process of being a united planet such that power naturally corrupts, I wonder what that level of power to control the entire planet would do to a human mind/psyche.

 

Edited August 26, 2018 by VictorMedvil