power corrupts

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a compression of Lord Acton's celebrated 1887 observation that power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, asserting that the acquisition of authority over others tends to erode the moral character and judgement of those who hold it, making them increasingly prone to self-serving decisions, abuse of authority, and disregard for the interests and rights of those they govern; the maxim has been supported by social psychology research demonstrating that experimental subjects given power over others quickly develop reduced empathy, increased risk tolerance, and a tendency to instrumentalise rather than respect others; in political economy power corrupts describes the tendency of political and economic elites to use their position to protect and extend their privileges rather than to serve the common good, providing a fundamental argument for institutional checks, term limits, transparency, and democratic accountability