LORD ACTON
In April 1887, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton penned a letter to the scholar Mandell Creighton. In it he expresses his belief that, more often than not, power leads to corruption in men. When used rightly, power can influence much good in this world, however, we must always be wary of the tendency for men to use their power for their own personal benefit, often to the detriment of others. Lord Acton is often misquoted as saying “power corrupts,” when he actually said that “power tends to corrupt.” There is a very important difference; power can be used for both good and evil. I have heard more than one young person say they did not want a career in public service or elected office because of reliance on this misquoting of Acton.
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I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way, against the holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or certainty of corruption by full authority. There is no worse heresy than the fact that the office sanctifies the holder of it.