Essay Does Power Corrupt Those Who Have It 
Michelle Chai
Does Power Corrupt Those Who Have It?
Power corrupts those who have it.Power means different things to different people. Some say that power is the ability to exert influence beyond those one actually controls. Others maintain that power boils down to the ability to get what one wants. An analysis of the book
Lord of the Flies and Joseph Stalin’s rise to corruption explains how power corrupts people in many different ways.
Without rules or common sense, even the most pure child can be stained with corruption. For example, most of the children in
Lord of the
Flies
become corrupt with violence by killing pigs. The famous quote by Lord
Acton, "All power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" is proven to be true by the actions of the character Jack. Jack was a born leader and when he was not elected leader of the boys on the island he immediately sought ways to gain power. He furthered his power by being elected leader of the hunters. At the beginning of the novel, Jack is an innocent, young boy who progressively becomes power dependent and thrives off of this power. By the end of the novel, Jack has become absolutely corrupt with this power and commits terrible acts of violence such as killing pigs and ultimately other boys. Hence telling the readers that power made Jack lose his sense of morals and values. This shows that when a power hungry person gains power, he will always thirst for more.
When given absolute power of a country, a person will do what it takes to achieve their tawdry desires. As a result, it leads to corruption. For example, Joseph Stalin, a dictator of the Soviet Union, was elected as
General Secretary of the Party. He was seen as a rising role model but became a corrupt dictator. Once he was drenched in power, he executed all of his opposition and promoted those who were loyal. As a result, millions of people died and Stalin ruled to his death. This is to show that Joseph Stalin, like any other person can
Does Power Corrupt Those Who Have It?
Power corrupts those who have it.Power means different things to different people. Some say that power is the ability to exert influence beyond those one actually controls. Others maintain that power boils down to the ability to get what one wants. An analysis of the book
Lord of the Flies and Joseph Stalin’s rise to corruption explains how power corrupts people in many different ways.
Without rules or common sense, even the most pure child can be stained with corruption. For example, most of the children in
Lord of the
Flies
become corrupt with violence by killing pigs. The famous quote by Lord
Acton, "All power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" is proven to be true by the actions of the character Jack. Jack was a born leader and when he was not elected leader of the boys on the island he immediately sought ways to gain power. He furthered his power by being elected leader of the hunters. At the beginning of the novel, Jack is an innocent, young boy who progressively becomes power dependent and thrives off of this power. By the end of the novel, Jack has become absolutely corrupt with this power and commits terrible acts of violence such as killing pigs and ultimately other boys. Hence telling the readers that power made Jack lose his sense of morals and values. This shows that when a power hungry person gains power, he will always thirst for more.
When given absolute power of a country, a person will do what it takes to achieve their tawdry desires. As a result, it leads to corruption. For example, Joseph Stalin, a dictator of the Soviet Union, was elected as
General Secretary of the Party. He was seen as a rising role model but became a corrupt dictator. Once he was drenched in power, he executed all of his opposition and promoted those who were loyal. As a result, millions of people died and Stalin ruled to his death. This is to show that Joseph Stalin, like any other person can