In his letter of 1887 to Bishop Mandell Creighton, Lord Acton wrote; "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
Throughout the history of man, great thinkers have written about the true motivation of man. Power over the forces of life in the form of survival and power over others is the great motivator. They say that for women "power is the ultimate aphrodisiac". All of the material goods associated with power are simply ancillary.
Throughout the history of man, great thinkers have written about the true motivation of man. Power over the forces of life in the form of survival and power over others is the great motivator. They say that for women "power is the ultimate aphrodisiac". All of the material goods associated with power are simply ancillary.
Power and the motivations driving it are as varied as the individuals who use it and the people who are effected by it. The use of power can include anyone from the meter maid or policeman who writes a parking ticket and has a Rolls Royce towed and impounded to a world leader who can incinerate tens of thousands of innocent women and children in Asia, Europe and the Middle East with the stroke of a pen. There you have the ultimate power! Of course the difference between a world leader and a war criminal is victory. In victory, the conqueror assumes the mantle of world leader while the conquered is relegated to history as a war criminal even though both have committed similar atrocities in pursuit of their ultimate goal of power.
It’s of little difference to the victims if the source of their anguish was at the hands of the Japanese in Asia, the Nazis in Europe, or the Crusaders in the Middle East. We don’t even have to look outside of our own borders from the 1600s on, to find torture, inquisitions, witch burnings, slavery and genocide of Native Americans. History is written by the victors! This is no more evident than the recent book written by George W. Bush in which he proudly proclaims that he personally authorized the use of torture during his presidency. The techniques that were used have been not only condemned by the international community as war crimes but also historically by the United States government during WWII, Korea, Vietnam. Here you have the ultimate power, when you can not only commit acts your own government has historically designated as war crimes but go on to write a book and boast about it. "History is written by the victors." Winston Churchill
The presidency of the United States is the ultimate world power! The most obscenely wealthy billionaire in the world with all of his power can not send tens of thousands of innocent people to their death with the stroke of a pen. George Bush was not the first president to use executive branch employees as yes men to sanction his abuses. John Kennedy did it with the Bay of Pigs fiasco. Of course Richard Nixon had Charles Colson who was his “Special Counsel” and resident Christian famously tell him “When you have them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.” Of course Colson went to prison and Nixon went home.“When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty.” George Bernard Shaw.
You only have to look at what people are willing to do in the pursuit of power. Not only the grueling blood letting of a political campaign but the expenditure of personal fortunes in hopes of achieving more power. Recently, Meg Whitman spent $141.5 million dollars of her own money to be only one of 50 state governors. The position pays an annual salary of $212,179.00. The price of power!
