Assertions over humanity
Power is a fundamental element of society. It is something that is desired by everyone, but what is power? Power is the ability to influence the outside world or accomplish one’s goals (Anderson 47). Power can be divided into two types of power: physical power and societal power. Physical power is power at in its most basic form, and is defined by the literal physical strength of an individual (47). Societal power is more nuanced. Unlike physical power it is not determined by the actual individual but instead it’s defined by the strength of the political and economic connections one has. In the past the line, between these two types of power was vague. Physical strength often directly translated into societal strength …show more content…
The quote was originally from a man named John Dalberg-Acton. Lord Acton first made the iconic quote in 1887 in the first of a series of letters directed towards Mandell Creighton an archbishop of the church of england. In the letters lord acton and bishop Creighton debated over the “moral” issue of writing over the inquisition. Creighton insisted that it was morally wrong for one to judge the king and pope under the same standard as the common man. Lord Acton saw this lack of consistency as a blank check for the powerful to take advantage of. He uses a critically passionate tone in an attempt to convince the archbishop of the necessity to regulate the powerful,but despite his best efforts he was unable to convince the archbishop of the errors of way of thinking. nonetheless others who have read these letters realized the importance in his words. realizing the dangers of allowing an individual to gain absolute …show more content…
According to a report from Ian Robertson the feeling of power has very similar effects on the brain as cocaine (qtd. In “Power as addictive as cocaine” 1). Both cocaine and power create positive emotions such as euphoria and confidence, but both also create many negative emotions such as anxiety, paranoia, and arrogance (1). However these effects are not the only similarities between power and drugs like cocaine; both powder and drugs cause those affected to become addicted. This addiction causes the wielders of power to become desperate to obtain even more power. This desperation for more power is often the source of their corruption. Seeing the abuse of their power as the easiest avenue to obtaining more
Power is a fundamental element of society. It is something that is desired by everyone, but what is power? Power is the ability to influence the outside world or accomplish one’s goals (Anderson 47). Power can be divided into two types of power: physical power and societal power. Physical power is power at in its most basic form, and is defined by the literal physical strength of an individual (47). Societal power is more nuanced. Unlike physical power it is not determined by the actual individual but instead it’s defined by the strength of the political and economic connections one has. In the past the line, between these two types of power was vague. Physical strength often directly translated into societal strength …show more content…
The quote was originally from a man named John Dalberg-Acton. Lord Acton first made the iconic quote in 1887 in the first of a series of letters directed towards Mandell Creighton an archbishop of the church of england. In the letters lord acton and bishop Creighton debated over the “moral” issue of writing over the inquisition. Creighton insisted that it was morally wrong for one to judge the king and pope under the same standard as the common man. Lord Acton saw this lack of consistency as a blank check for the powerful to take advantage of. He uses a critically passionate tone in an attempt to convince the archbishop of the necessity to regulate the powerful,but despite his best efforts he was unable to convince the archbishop of the errors of way of thinking. nonetheless others who have read these letters realized the importance in his words. realizing the dangers of allowing an individual to gain absolute …show more content…
According to a report from Ian Robertson the feeling of power has very similar effects on the brain as cocaine (qtd. In “Power as addictive as cocaine” 1). Both cocaine and power create positive emotions such as euphoria and confidence, but both also create many negative emotions such as anxiety, paranoia, and arrogance (1). However these effects are not the only similarities between power and drugs like cocaine; both powder and drugs cause those affected to become addicted. This addiction causes the wielders of power to become desperate to obtain even more power. This desperation for more power is often the source of their corruption. Seeing the abuse of their power as the easiest avenue to obtaining more