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If you are reading your history book, a play, or even watching the news today, you will see how people abuse the power that they have over somethings. There have been many leaders and people who abuse their power over civilization and places. Even the littlest taste of power often leads them to corruption. Many times, citizens and adversaries riot over some of the things that they disagree on and, in some cases, murder comes in to play.
Power can be corrupted in various ways. Those with authority can abuse their power to hurt citizens. Others can use it for their own personal gain such as for riches and to become notorious. Although, the process of having power be corrupted can vary. Geoffrey Chaucer portrays the multiple ways of the corruption of power throughout The Canterbury Tales.
In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth and his wife plot and kill Duncan over a prophecy they receive. This leads to the death of Him and Lady Macbeth and many others. Is power a corrupting force? Yes in the play, Macbeth is given much power and he abuses it, being corrupted with the idea of power. This is prevalent through the plot, characters, tone, and theme of the play.
Abuse of power, either by individuals or government, can affect trust and stability in society, leading to chaos and disorder. In the thousands of years humans have existed, there have been many incidents where certain people gained too much power, commands that lead to the downfall of empires and even civilizations. This concept has been presented in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and in many other texts such as “Nero” by Don Nardo which talks about Emperor Nero from the Roman Empire who was a very power hungry leader, “Apartheid” by Gale World History Online which talks about how government abused their power over people to establish apartheid against Black Africans. These texts support how abuse of power leads to chaos and disorder in society.
For women like Heather King abortion was utilized for a method of birth control, instead of taking the precautionary measures prior to becoming pregnant. Kings actions where senseless and it was not just one life that was unjustly taken but two. Abortion is a choice, but it is an unethical and immoral one. All lives matter from the very start of life and it is not justifiable for people to make a judgment call on when they feel life begins. Planned Parenthood and other agencies that provide abortions do not fully prepare women on the possible side effects that are caused by abortions.
Muammar al-Gaddafi lead a successful coup in 1969 against King Idris of Libya, at the age of 27. A graduate of the University of Libya and the Libyan military academy, Gaddafi plotted with a group of other fellow officers to overthrow King Idris, who was perceived as being overly conservative and indifferent to the movement for greater political unity among the Arab countries. In 1969 Gaddafi had reached the rank of captain, and the revolutionaries were ready to strike. They waited for Idris to leave the country and then toppled his government in a bloodless coup. The Monarchy was abolished, and Idris escaped to Egypt for asylum .
. John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton once stated, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” However, the usage of power can be implemented positively or negatively, depending on the intentions of an individual. By definition, power is stated as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Characters from The Epic of Gilgamesh by Sin-Leqi-Unninni and Lysistrata by Aristophanes demonstrate that not all who wield power results in corruption.
“Power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupt power.”- William Gaddis. People take advantage of power when it is entrusted to them because of their own greed, which as a result lead to societal deterioration. In the story, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood, the higher-ups from Gilead abuse the power that is given to them, ruining the life of the citizens in the society. This was the cause for the need of higher birth rates and fixing conflicts in the world, but this was handled immorally.
Power can have the persuasive action in undoing the moral ethics of one’s character. This can be seen throughout history, such as World War II and proven by the actions of Napoleon in the allegory, Animal Farm, by George Orwell. As Lord Acton said “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In history what was viewed as a villain, is never the same as the perception. A leader does not begin wanting to do wrong, they start with the best intentions, but power is a tricky thing.
There are three types of conflict present in the lives of all people. Struggles are necessary in real and fictional narratives to advance the storyline and to help one reach their goals. These obstacles are particularly abundant in action stories. A classic adventure story, Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” demonstrates the aforementioned three types of conflicts, man versus nature, man versus man, and man versus self. Conflict between man and nature is exhibited in the short story “The Most Dangerous Game”.
Power can be a wonderful thing, which leads to success. On the other hand, misusing it can lead to corruption, depending on who is handling it. George Orwell in his book Animal Farm uses animals to show that humans abuse their power. The most significant topic in the novel is the abuse of power that keeps happening again and again. When unconstructive human qualities take over what is really important and overcome one's ability to govern competently, power is corrupted.
“Power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupt power.”- William Gaddis. People take advantage of power when it is entrusted to them because of their own greed, which as a result lead to societal deterioration. In the story, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood, the higher-ups from Gilead abuse the power that is given to them, ruining the life of the citizens in the society. This was the cause for the need of higher birth rates and fixing conflicts in the world, but this was handled immorally.
When somebody receives incredible power, they also receive a large burden of responsibility. Some people, such as Napoleon, disregard these responsibilities and become corrupt. In reality, we have seen this in leaders such as Stalin, who became corrupt once into power. In “Animal Farm”, Napoleon, a totalitarian pig, is a great example of how too much power is equal to corruption.
The misuse of power is how we see many leaders of the world behaving in the present
The quote by Lord Acton, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” is a good example of what is happening in the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. The pigs immediately gain control and leadership of the farm and eventually start to abuse the power. The pigs abuse their power by changing the commandments, living in luxury, and by treating the animals poorly. First and foremost, the pigs start changing the commandments to fit their acts and desires. In the beginning of the story, the animals decide on fair rules that everyone on the farm should abide by.