Does power eventually corrupt? Are all things that are powerful eventually doomed to fail? This is a good question. By looking at many instances of history, we can see that, yes power has failed many times. But does this mean that power- from the past, present, and future has, is, or will crumble? The answer depends on the actions of the individuals in power. For instance, if an individual was king, and acted in a way that the people did not like, the people would most likely rebel, causing the king’s power to be corrupted. This can also happen to governments, and entire empires.
However, the answer also depends on other people’s actions. If the king that I mentioned previously had not done anything wrong, but the people were just tired of having a king, than they could rebel, corrupting the king’s power. People are fickle and always changing things. They could be completely satisfied with having one single ruler one minute, and the next minute they might want a democracy.
A good example of power corrupting is the Persian Empire. They were the mightiest empire in the known world at one time, but Alexander the Great quickly swooped in and took that power from them. The Persians had lost all their power in the world, and they hadn’t even had time to blink. This is an instance of other people and their actions corrupting power. The Persians had not done anything to offend the people; they had simply been surprised by Alexander the Great’s mighty battle plans and actions, and had lost their power as quickly as they had gained it.
Another good example of power corrupting is what happened to Egypt’s pharaoh when Alexander the Great swooped in. The Egyptians had been living in a chain of city-states along the Nile River, and all of these city-states were ruled by a single leader, called a pharaoh. However, when Alexander the Great came to Egypt, the Egyptians were thrilled by his ideas to get revenge on the Persians. They pampered him while he stayed with them in their country, and were even willing to fight with him against the Persians. After Alexander became a very powerful king of the known world, Egypt adopted his way of life. All the previous Egyptian cultures, such as mummification, hieroglyphics, and pyramid-building were lost. The pharaoh lost his power, and Alexander the Great gained it. The pharaoh’s power was therefore corrupted because of another person’s actions, just like the Persians had been corrupted.
The fall of the Roman Empire is another good example of power corrupting. The Roman Empire, in its best time, was the most powerful empire on the known planet. It ruled all the people, but, eventually, like all other powerful forces, it fell. There was not any single reason it fell, not as specifically as other two examples. Too many stupid mistakes could have been one reason, such as building Hadrian’s Wall. This cost, it said, a million day’s labor. This may have caused the people to rebel, corrupting Rome’s power in the process.
However, this cannot be the main reason responsible for the fall of the mightiest empire on the earth at that time. The barbarian attacks, the bonds being weakened as a result of Christianity, the fact that it may have, in fact, gotten too big, all of these are factors of why the empire failed when it did. The fact is, Rome had been very powerful, and it may have been this power that was its demise.
This empire was failed not only because of one person, but because of other people too. The people that were highly respected in Rome made some decisions that were bound to upset the people. Doing things that upset the people is never a good idea, because in more times than one, the common people outnumber the people in charge, which is never good for the people in charge. They tend to be the ones that are satisfied, and the commoners are the ones who are unhappy. Since they outnumber the powerful people, the commoners are able to rebel and be successful. The fact is, Rome had gotten to powerful for its own good, and was doomed to fall.
Julius Caesar is a good example of someone who makes a bad decision, which ends his power streak. Julius Caesar was elected into office, and slowly made his way into power. He very cleverly made his way up to power, but he had only one problem. He was power-hungry. Caesar wanted very badly to be king. He knew that if he were king, he would have an incredible amount of power, and Caesar craved having this type of power.
However, the people of Rome did not want another king, not after they had just gotten rid of one. Caesar put on an act like he did not want the crown; that he was not going to be a king. This thrilled the people (the commoners), and made them love him even more.
However, danger was brewing. Cassius and Brutus, two powerful men, and Brutus, Caesar’s close friend, were hatching a plan to assassinate Caesar. On March 15 of 44 B.C., Caesar was stabbed twenty-three times by Brutus, his close friend, and five other men. Caesar’s reign had ended.
This story is an example of power corrupting because of mainly one person: Caesar. Caesar had dug his own grave by trying to be king, and it was this mistake that cost him his power, and his life.
To answer the original question, yes, I believe that eventually, all power will corrupt. Power is a dangerous thing, and very hard to hold onto. People are not willing to let one person or people get too much power, or have power for too long of a time. We as humans are not perfect, and this means that we will never be able to have a situation in which the power will be perfectly spread around. We will just have to keep trying to find the right fit, corrupting and unearthing power in many different places.
Works Cited:
1. "BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: Ancient Egypt and the Modern World." BBC - Homepage. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.
2. "The Fall of Rome." Tamos (portal). Web. 26 Feb. 2010.
http://www.tamos.net/~rhay/romefall.html
3. "Julius Caesar: Historical Background." VROMA :: Home. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.
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