Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

“Power”, just the sound passes a chill through the body, does it not? To have complete power over something, to have something absolutely under your command, to make something/someone does absolutely anything. Sounds like a pretty great idea, it sure does. But does it always feel just as great without any consequences to it? Let’s find that out from the story of King Louis of Princeland.

A young, intelligent, handsome prince was little Louis. Generosity seemed to be owned by him. He’d take care of every worker’s needs when his father would be too busy for it. Everyone admired him dearly and he reciprocated with a passion too. Years passed, the king died and little Louis now 18, was crowned the next king. He ruled with compassion and everyone loved him even more as king. He got married and had a beautiful daughter. Everything was peaceful and everyone was happy. Slowly, King Louis, who’d always thought the greatest possession in the world, was his subjects’ happiness, became aware of the Power he withheld over them all. He could make them do anything. His subjects would’ve to do all his biddings, anything he wanted them to do. All he had to do was order them, he, the King. He turned brutal, rash. All his generosity turned to barbarism. But above it all, he seemed to enjoy it; he seemed to enjoy it all. He seemed to enjoy his people getting hurt, get tormented. He seemed to take joy in hurting people more than the smile on their faces.

One day on his way back to the palace, he found all his subjects including his Queen and Prince lined up, from their eyes, falling tears ready to burn him. But his eyes fell on that one placard that a little kid was holding in a corner that said, ‘You ruined my life. Go away and never come back heartless monster!’ The king stepped back, turned back and didn’t ever look back. How could he? After all that he did, after every single person, every child he made cry? It wasn’t until then that the king realized just how greedy and hungry he’d become for power. He’d lost his kind, loving self and had become an entirely different person who didn’t care about anyone but himself. The realization of the power he withheld over his subjects made him become brutal. And now he had lost everything, his kingdom, his family, and his people. He had been corrupted by his own power. But it was too late now.

Said by Lord Acton in the early nineteen hundreds the phrase ‘Absolute power corrupts absolutely’ holds such a great meaning and moral in it, that even to this date people admire it in their quotes. Isn’t it scary how everything that we have can be snatched away from us without any warning? How our biggest strength can in turn corrupt us of everything we have? Pride, over anything, if takes hold, it wouldn’t take a second for us to lose every power we have over anything.

Power is a tricky possession. It can literally make us the strongest as well as the weakest person in this whole world. It is actually the person who decides how to use it. Some treat their powers recklessly and end up losing every bit of them. While if we truly understand the power of the consequences brought along with it, only then would we really be able to enjoy it. History has the record of rulers and people who’ve been tempted to the joy of power and in turn, have been victimized by its consequences. Some examples of such people are the Roman Emperors, who declared themselves as gods. French military leader Napolean Bonaparte, himself was a victim of his own Power. He, after winning over almost the entire world started to care less about his deeds, let his right-hand men do his jobs for him and forgot about his priorities which in turn led to his downfall. The Mughal rulers included rulers such as Aurangzeb. Being crowned the king after assassinating his father and brothers, Aurangzeb became vain, conceited and ignorant of his powers. His arrogance, as a result, caused his empire to fall down too, along with which brought down the entire Mughal Empire. He is still considered as one of the most tyrant rulers of The Mughal Empire. Then we have Dhana Nanda, ruler of the Nanda dynasty. His hunger for more Power could never be satisfied which made him do brutal, heartless and reckless things to his own kingdom.

A lot of such people are proof of just how corrupt power can make people. Our lust for can be and how it can destroy us slowly, making us lose everything we have. But people as great as Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, and the Mughal Ruler, Akbar, do exist too. They had just as much power as anyone else before and after them. Yet, their determination to stay true and committed to their countries, make them people that we consider good now. People whom we admire, people whom we think of as our role models now, whom we look up to. Every parent tells their child to be like Akbar and not Aurangzeb. It is proof that good people with just the same amount of, even more power exist too. The temptation to gain Power over anything is harder than anything to resist. Its allure is strong enough to even drown the wisest. For which people most of the time, unfortunately, give into it. Honestly, who doesn’t enjoy power? But if we keep in mind the price that it comes at, we can enjoy it not just for some fleeting moments but forever. History is legit evidence of how corrupt a man can be if they forget they lose their morals to the greed of Power. Hence, Power if kept in control and used wisely could be our greatest possession, but if misused, it also could be the reason for our downfall.