Great men are almost always bad men.
Lord ActonRead
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that the more power one has, the more likely they are to be corrupted by it.
Lord Acton's quote highlights the inherent dangers of power, implying that even a small amount of power can lead to corruption, while a large amount of power can result in total moral decay. It serves as a warning that those in positions of authority must be vigilant about the potential for their power to corrupt their integrity and ethical considerations.
Themes
PowerCorruptionAbsolutismAuthorityEthics
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about political leadership and ethics.
More from Lord Acton
All quotes βSave for the wild force of Nature, nothing moves in this world that is not Greek in its origin.
Lord ActonRead
Liberty and good government do not exclude each other; and there are excellent reasons why they should go together. Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.
Lord ActonRead
Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end...liberty is the only object which benefits all alike, and provokes no sincere opposition...The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. ~ Every class is unfit to govern ... Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.
Lord ActonRead
Limitation is essential to authority. A government is legitimate only if it is effectively limited.
Lord ActonRead
To develop and perfect and arm conscience is the great achievement of history.
Lord ActonRead
Similar quotes
When journalists and politicians speak of a dwindling middle class that's under economic assault and a poor community that's getting bigger, they're talking about Ferguson. Independent of the racial demographics and dynamics of Ferguson, Missouri, there's a 'Ferguson' near you.
Jesse JacksonRead
When you step further into the story you came to live, not only does the mythic territory open, but the deep self moves and the world of imagination and meaning comes towards you.
Michael MeadeRead
A claim for equality of material position can be met only by a government with totalitarian powers.
Friedrich August Von HayekRead
The whole art of war consists in getting at what is on the other side of the hill.
Duke Of WellingtonRead
Earth is a place where language has literally become alive. Language has infested matter; it is replicating and defining and building itself. And it is in us.
Terence MckennaRead
Man must be arched and buttressed from within, else the temple wavers to the dust.
Marcus AureliusRead