‘Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ (John Dalberg-Acton) Explain the reasoning behind this statement. Argue that power does not necessarily degrade or weaken the morals of those who hold it. To what extent is it possible for someone to hold power without using it for their own personal gain?

The statement suggests that having

power

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, or

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opportunity

Correct article usage

the opportunity

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to take advantage of

people

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, leads to the ill use of

such

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power

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for personal

gain

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, politically, socially, financially, etc, known as

corruption

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. It implies that possession of it is the cause of

such

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action and it occurs without exception

,

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apply

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and that the more

power

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, the more

corruption

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. I would suggest

this

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is

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apply

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because it provides

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opportunity

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an opportunity

the opportunity

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for personal

gain

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, relative to the amount of

power

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, which becomes harder and harder to resist as the

power

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increases. It is possible Dalberg meant that the very

power

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itself does not cause

corruption

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, but provides temptation and

opportunity

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to those

would

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who would

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seek personal

gain

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at the cost of others, and by

this

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logic, those who do not wish

this

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would be well suited to

power

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without taking advantage of it.

This

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idea is echoed widely in our society, as many altruistic groups are providing many opportunities to seek financial

gain

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for example

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; any charity has money passing to causes, but those responsible could take it for themselves

,

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but don’t. Action aid

provide

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provides

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money to Covid patients in India, rather than taking it for themselves, as an example of simple altruism.

However

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, there are a great many examples of where

people

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have had

this

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altruistic

opportunity

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and

instead

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taken it for

gain

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,

like

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as

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the CEO of a successful company paying as little as possible to workers, while taking all they can spare for themselves. There are so many cases of

this

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greed, that it is proof enough that the chance provided by

power

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is so tempting to anyone that it leads to

this

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corruption

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. And,

furthermore

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, much of the reason that

this

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doesn’t occur more is

because

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that

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so many

people

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are vigilant to

corruption

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by those in

power

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– effectively removing the

opportunity

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afforded by the

power

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, re-affirming the idea that when

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power

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the power

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does not corrupt, it’s because the

power

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to be corrupt is not there – as in the case of charities, where books are scrupulously checked and kept, and criminal charges are threatened to those who are corrupt here. In conclusion, I believe that Dalberg-Acton suggests that

power

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over

people

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, money and resources, provides

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opportunity

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an opportunity

the opportunity

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for financial

gain

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to those willing to take it, and

this

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becomes more tempting with more

power

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.

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,

this

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is not universal and there are examples where

people

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hold

power

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and don’t manipulate it – but

this

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is due to genuine altruism, and accountability in many cases.