Power
Corrupts
by Per Bylund
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The history of man is a history
of rule or ambition to rule. It is not, as Marx claimed, a
history of constant class struggle between bourgeoisie and
proletariat, even though class struggle may be derived from
the fundamental division of society into “rulers” and
“ruled.” An important part of this history is the continuous
“race to the top” among self-centered power seekers, trying
to gather as large a number of subjects as possible to rule.
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As is shown by Lord Acton’s
famous words of wisdom that “power corrupts,” what characterizes the
history of man is the corrupted leaders blinded by their power and
might. Throughout history, monarchs, religious and ideological leaders,
as well as elected presidents go crazy. The French king Louis’ XIV claim
“L’Etat, c’est moi” (I am the State) is typical to the leaders then and
now.
Power does corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Lord Acton
did not, however, identify the meaning of power and corruption fully;
his “truth” is only a half truth.
Great men and women coming to power may use it wisely, and bring peace
and prosperity to the land as in the Disney sagas. At least for a very
short while; the real kings and queens of history have truly been
tyrants oppressing the people to gain personally in prestige or wealth.
The ones called “the Great” are worse than the other rulers in the
subjection and killing of “ordinary” men; winning many wars (read:
killing a lot of people) does not make a man great; on the contrary, it
shows his inability to use his intelligence and to reason.
The wars between countries (read: states) throughout history are
overwhelmingly started not because of pressure from the people. The men
in the kingdoms were the ones being slaughtered in the kings’ wars, and
the women, children, elderly and disabled were left to take care of
their chores on the farms as well as all the men’s. And they were all
being heavily taxed to finance the wars in order to gain prestige for
their ruler.
Some (civil) wars were nevertheless started by “the people,” but it has
through the years only been used as a final resort to get rid of a much
too oppressive ruler. Most civil wars have nothing or almost nothing to
do with the people; they derive from either a ruler’s attempt to force
his (it’s usually a man) subjects to obedience, or a power-seeking
aristocrat seeking to increase his powers.
The same is true in our “civilized” time; no wars have been started
because it is a just war supported by the people – it is always the
chiefs of the state making the decision. War has always to do with an
attempt to increase (or somebody’s attempt to reduce or take over) the
powers of the chief: Hitler aimed to increase his powers by increasing
the size of Germany; the Soviet leaders wished to rule the world under
communism; Iraq’s Saddam Hussein tried to put Kuwait under his rule; the
Serbian leader Milosevic wanted to increase his Serb domain; and George
W. Bush sought to stabilize his presidency through invading Afghanistan
and Iraq.
The “power game” has reached its peak during our age, the age of
democracy. With democracy, it is in everybody’s theoretical reach to
gain power over everybody else, indeed making society an eternal
struggle between individuals and groups for power. Marx would have been
correct in this “power struggle” if he had seen the 20th and 21st
Century democracies, but he never saw democracy in full.
The ordered and organized society of history has thus weakened in favor
of the power struggle in democracy. This has also unleashed the
power-seekers throughout society. These people, corrupted to the very
soul with their pathological quest for power, have in democracy a
foundation from which to enslave their fellow men.
The part of the truth Lord Acton did not realize when stating “power
corrupts” is that the corrupted seek power. Only people not able to grow
tall from their own efforts and achievements seek to subdue their fellow
man; only people not being able to find comfort in their own mind seek
to silence others; those who are unable to produce their own wealth aim
to confiscate the wealth of others.
Power does really corrupt, but it is as true that corrupt people seek
power. |