Does power corrupt?
 

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
- Baron Acton.

Judging those of us who've been elected to offices of power, whilst being members of this forum, have those people been corrupted, and changed for the worse, or better, or as power not changed them at all?

This poll is a secret one.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

How do I vote if I think it has corrupted some but not others?

I'm with Neil. I also think most corruptible crave power

*most corruptible people

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

You must look at the evidence, and try and make a generalised, but informed decision, as to whether you think that power has changed members of Accy Web.

If this doesn't satisfy your own thinking, there is always the two other remaining options.

Don't vote.

Don't vote, but virtually spoil your paper, by voicing your dissent in this accompanying thread.

Anymore help, please just ask.

Give, give, give.

;)

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

You could also take another route.

Name those who you think have, and haven't been corrupted.

Perhaps giving reasons why, with examples of their corruption, if need be.

;)

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

I voted remain the same on the basis i think its all in the mind. if yer bent,yer bent to start with, just sometimes needs a platform to fully develop.;)

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

I vote yes, but not all people who are elected crave power, some just want to make a difference, and this does happen

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Yes it does...




Occasionally, it even happens for the better.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Quite Agree Less.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

yeh but were they not straight in the first place? bent is bent i think no matter what level.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

A lot of um I never knew prior to politics cashy so can't answer that

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Never had yeh down as a fence sitter.:D

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

How can I judge somebody who I only met when they got involved in politics, they could have been an axe murderer prior, who knows:rolleyes::D

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Common sense difficult when yeh got Tory leanings i accept that fact.:rolleyes: I believe if one is bent they were bent before, Politics just develops it more.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Oh come on cashy I didn't realise you were a real head the ball until I met you:p:p:p:D

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Thats what comes wi yeh leading a sheltered life.:D

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

i think most of the polititions in the house of commons are corrupt and have stamped over or stabbed many people in the back to claw where they are now.There may be a small handfull of people who are truely there to serve the people but they are far and few between and our MP certainly isnt one of them as he has proven .If polititions were a type of cancer to get rid of it you would also have to cut out some of the good as well to make sure it was all removed.


it seems we democraticaly elect people to dictate to us although no one at all voted for this coalition:rolleyes:

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

It's a word which covers a multitude of sins. My trusty Collins thesaurus (never leaves my side) gives the following synonyms, just in case anyone was unsure as to what corrupt means and what corruption is:

Bent, bribable, crooked, dishonest, fraudulent, rotten, shady, unethical, unprincipled, Unscrupulous, venal.
Abandoned, debased, debauched, defiled, degenerate, demoralized, depraved, dishonoured,dissolute, profiteer, profligate, vicious.
As a verb: Alter, contaminate,defile, doctor, Entice, falsify, fix, grease someone's palm, infect,lure, pervert,putrefy,spoil, square, subborn, subvert, taint, tamper with and vitiate.

Plenty to play with - can't comment personally as i don't think I've "known" those in power on the forum over enough time. (Not sitting on the fence this time -I really don't know what they promised and what they might have delivered.)

My own experience, from another time and place, is that power does corrupt - especially political power, it can bend even the most fervent idealists.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Absolutely;)

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

There's always an old saying that rising political stars should heed, be careful who to step on on your way up, as you meet the same people on the way back down:rolleyes:

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Sheltered life, so thats what ya call it:D

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

doubt it jay because they get a very large pension even if they only last one term so they never have to dirty themselves with their locals again.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

No but they have to live with um, :rolleyes:

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Power can and does corrupt but the real reason that the powerful always seem corrupt is down to that old statement of fact: those who seek power are those who are least suited to it. The fact is we are in the same position now that we have been in for hundreds (thousands?) of years, the people who are born at the top do whatever they can to hold on to what they've got and those who achieve the climb to the top are usually self-serving and tend to pull the ladder up behind them. Thatcher should have been a shining example to all women with ambition but instead I believe she put the idea of women leaders back years and she hardly ever had any women in her cabinet.
The only thing that surprises me anymore in politics is that politicians actually seem to think that we believe that they give a damn. Whenever the country is in a poor state (when exactly that is and how often is another argument) the most sickening thing I think a politician can say is, "We are all in this together".
People need to stop labouring under the misapprehension that our leaders care about us or the country, they do just whatever is needed to retain power, that includes lying, cheating, squirming, kissing babies and latching onto the Olympics as though it was their idea.
Long live the revolution (a revolution is something that ultimately takes you back to where you started - so that's no bloody good either).

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Having had the privelige of sitting on both sides of the fence, it strikes me that almost all references to politicians seem to refer to MPs at national level. Hardly any comments seem to relate to local councillors and yet when arguments come up we are lumped in with the same crowd.

The assertion that MPs come from the top and that's how they stay there is a little off the mark, though.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Thats probably cos locals in general are more concerned wi local issues n local people, theres always the exception though.as we have seen recently.:rolleyes:

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

I have long held the belief that the only difference between national politicians and local ones is that they operate on a much smaller scale. I am one of the few people who believe that we should be guided more centrally and less locally.
It always seems to me that local government exists to be a pain in the backside to people. Petty by-laws are the bain of most peoples lives and seem to do very little to enhance anyones life. Local councilors seem to "impose" things on the local populace either because they can or in an effort to leave some kind of personal legacy to the community, regardless of whether anyone wants it or not. Not meaning to offend anyone who has been a councilor (there are good ones just as there are good MP's) but I think the world would be a better place with a few less of them.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Disagree wi yeh houseboy, Central is corruption on a much grander scale altogether, Agree yer one of the few.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

In my opinion I think it should be the other way round, more weight behind local politicians and less from central government, local councillors are more in touch with the needs of local people. National politicians tend to forget the wishes of people who put them in Westminster, until the time comes around when they need that support again

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

It strikes me that those who criticise local councillors on this website have probably never been councillors themselves. So if you think that our performance doesn't come up to the mark or that we are motivated purely by a desire for power, why not consider standing for election yourselves and see whether you can improve the standard? You may find that being a councillor is not quite as easy as you imagined!

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Do you believe that the conservative party manifesto has any relevance to the day to day running of council affairs? If so in what respect?

If not why do you stand as a conservative and not as an independent?

Personally I don't have the time, inclination or lifespan to stand and fight against the closed shop of party politics that is Hyndburn Council, nor am I hypocritical enough to join a party without believing in its ideals simply to get elected.

It strikes me that those councillors/deputy mayors who don't like criticism should actually represent the people that elected them instead of making stupid comments about Kashmiri, removing benches, placing expensive pay toilets at the entrance to free toilets, butchering the town centre and giving credence to half baked, biased surveys.

Oh yeah, and maybe some of my representatives could actually represent me for ALL of the council meetings and not walk out halfway through

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

I would not stand for election as a councilor simply because I would not wish to become that which I have heavily criticised over the years. There is corruption at all levels in politics and I think councilors are just as suscetible as those higher up the food chain. As I said earlier, there are good councilors as well as good MP's but I still believe that most councilors do what they do for a certain amount of self-gratification and, in the case on non-independents, pushiing the bounderies of party politics.
In reply to Jay, I agree that local councilors are a good idea in principle because they do or should have the interests of local people at heart but my experience is that mostly they do not seem to listen to local people at all. Things are built that nobody seems to want building, by-laws introduced that no-one wants and only have the effect of causing difficulites to most people and, reference my point above about party politics, which still dominates local government, even though it shouldn't.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

I spent 40 years around local politics and I have to say that on the whole councillors of all political colours DO try and do there best for local people, a lot of decisions they make are taken out of their hands by central and european legislation. As for party politics in local government I have long been an advocate of indendance from party at local level, but this will never happen, its the nature of the beast

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

I agree, Jay, that a lot of things are taken out of councilors hands by central government and Europe, this is why we are lumbered with the chaos that is our rubbish collections (my front garden looks like a recycling centre). But why, over the years and all over the country, do we constantly have decisions being made at local level that often is in opposition to what the local population actually want? I can understand if things are being passed by central government that overule local authorities but there are still things that happen that are the result of completely local government decisions.
I would be interested to see how many decisions that are made by councilors, when the votes are cast, are made according to party lines.
I think that for local government to really work to any great degree we must totally ban party politics from it altogether. Party politics has no place in local government. I believe, as I you do Jay, that we would be much better served by independents with no politcal axe to grind. Of course I am not naive enough to think that this will ever happen but it would be good wouldn't it?

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

I'm sure 'those in the know' will disagree as they always do but national party politics actually play very little part in the policies that are made at HBC for the most part. Party viewpoints may come out in heated debates but the local Labour group is simply made up of people who are flying that flag, not slavishly adhering to national party rules which tell us how to write policies. Despite our differences, I suspect the same is largely true of the Conservative group.

Local government is a totally different beast from Westminster.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

"Corruption is nature's way of restoring our faith in democracy." - Peter Ustinov

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

My experience was that 90% of the work carried out by local councillors has little political significance. How do you apply political dogma to the re-alignment of a bus stop, the complaints about bin collections or dealing with noisy neighbours?

Most decisions taken at committee are in accordance with national guidelines or officer advice. Again, not much political significance.

Some decisions DO reflect party policies, but these seem to be getting fewer and fewer. When was the Council Tax level last fixed according to political considerations, rather than simply cash limiting it at last years level?

The 'group' mentality at Hyndburn is certainly strong, and once a group decision is made, everybody is expected to stick to it, but again the decisions aren't generally governed by political colours.

And the strong 'group' mentality has been abused at times. How many Conservative councillors REALLY wanted to walk out of Council meetings? I bet most of them were raising their eyebrows at their Labour colleagues as they left the chamber!

The Kashmir issue has been raised as an example of local politicians acting politically, but I suspect the real story there is that they saw it as a hot potato that nobody wanted to handle, and they dealt with it as best they could to avoid upsetting too many people. Seems they failed on that one!

Councillors are local representatives first, and politicians a long way second!

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

That nails it fer me,very well.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Here in Morecambe a large group of Independents controlled Lancaster City Council for several years in the early 2000s. When a Morecambe Town Council was formed a few years ago they won all but one of the 26 seats. Since then they have split into at least three different groups which seem to fight each other all the time about local issues and have achieved very little for the town and its residents.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Just guessing susie but are those three groups Labour, Conservative and Liberal:D

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

No not as far as I can make out, it's not on party lines but concerned with local issues.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Just seemed funny there is a three way split;)

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

In which case why align yourself with a party at all?

This is what I was trying to infer in my reply to our conservative deputy mayor..in Hyndburn you have little to zero chance of being elected unless you get into bed with one of the main parties regardless of the fact that party manifestos are irrelevant in local government..our current and previious independents are ex party members who have become disillusioned and can be discounted.

You are a card carrying member of the labour party, you can protest all you want about not slavishly adhering, but do you really think you, as an unknown immigrant from Preston ;) would have had a chance of becoming an independent councillor in Rishton???

Are you saying that council committees are pointless, other than applying a rubber stamp, since work and decisions are already made by officers and national guidelines?

Point is the Kashmiri issue WAS raised, I don't care which party or why, simple fact is that it shouldn't have been, and it should have been removed from the agenda by someone with balls, unfortunately 'party politics' which you claim is almost non existant demanded that it was given a hearing by blushing councillors, many of whom probably thought that Kashmir was a type of cardigan sold in M&S.

As for councillors not REALLY wanting to walk out...again, they should 'grow a pair', then again maybe they are afraid of being ousted from the 'party' and thus have no chance of re-election or being given the post of deputy mayor

Nails it for me too Cashy...if only it were true!

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

The general concensus here seems to be in agreement with the idea that party politics should have no place in local government, but the disagreement appears to be how much it actually is. There must be a way of looking at voting trends locally to see how strictly local issues have been voted for and against by individual members of council, and looking at the political affiliations of those councilors to see if there are party "trends".
My point is that it is possible to be of a particular political persuasion but still have the individuality to express ones own views when faced with that which you fundamentally disagree. The problem arises, all too often, that people with any political ambition at all seem to throw principle out of the window in order to tow the party line.
At a higher level, nationally, we only have to look at what the Lib Dems have done in order to cling on to that little bit of "power". The original question here was about power corrupting and I think that the Lib Dems provide an excellent example of that. They have abandoned all their "principles" and any semblance of moral value in order to cling on to that influence and power they have gained out of all proportion to the number of votes cast for them. The Tories are doing what Tories do and, while I don't like it, I have respect because they stick to what they believe in. The Lib Dems are simply doing whatever it takes to wield power.
To go back to the original question, "Does power corrupt?" I think that the answer is yes, look at the Lib Dems.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Who mentioned councillors?

The question was a general one, and could refer to anything from a member becoming a moderator, to a Member of Parliament.

To my knowledge councillors have been both criticised, or praised on this forum, depending on what they've actually done.

Besides, the most vitriolic attacks, and criticism of our local councillors on this forum, have been made by other councillors.

Guess that was before your time.

As in every field, there are good, and bad councillors.

Personally I've yet to hear a bad word said of you, or of your performance as a councillor...yet.

Now wind your neck in, and concentrate on the question being asked in this thread and poll.

;)

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

I have always thought that 'party' politics' should be taken out of local government.
The focus on which party a councillor belongs to takes away the focus from what should be happening locally........'party politics' has no place in local government....and it sometimes means that the wrong person is chosen for the job because he/she stands under the 'right'(as far as the elector is concerned) political banner.
It prevents some people from voting because they cannot see past political dogma.
(you know the kind of thing - 'I can't vote for him/ her....wouldn't put my cross on the paper for a tory')...........this despite the fact that they may be the right person to do the job in hand.....which is, after all, to look after local issues.

Some of the electorate cannot separate local issues from national issues when election time comes around.
Remove 'party po;itics' and more the important local issues might get dealt with in a better way. Without mud slinging, back biting and all the nasty things that get in the way of someone doing a great job......and serving the local people.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Party politics do have an influence on local politics, you usually find that, in places like Hyndburn, the colour of the council is opposite to that at Westminster, from 86 through to 1999 it was Labour, in fact on the day of the 1997 election the constitution of HBC was 44 Labour 3 Conservative councillors, within 3 elections Labour lost control, same in 2010, labour took control in 2011, although there is a slight leaning to personal votes in local elections, the party of Government usually lose local councillors very quickly and control changes hands

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Okay Margaret, we'll take politics out of local government and all councillors will have to stand on their own independent ticket, so you get a ballot paper with two candidates on, lets just say Ken Moss and Peter Britcliffe, 99% of people will look and say ah Mossy's Labour and Britcliffe's a Tory, that's why you'll never manage it, unless you bar the present incumbents from entering the election or people who have stood on a political ticket before, it ain't going to happen, the only thing is I totally agree with you and have done for a very long time, but know it hasn't a snowballs chance of happening, because political parties won't let it

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Two very good and well made points there, John, totally agree.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

You miss my point entirely. The elections would be for local government officers with no party allegiance...they would not be standing as 'Independents' because we would be taking politics out of the equation.
They would be judged on how they could do the job, what skills they had in certain aspects of what was required, their local knowledge of the area which they wanted to support in their work...not which political banner they sheltered under.
Maybe it would take a while for people to forget thay had allegiances with a political party...but perhaps it would stop the divides that party politics puts up...and allow the local government officers to work together with less rancour and backstabbing(we have all read of how certain people storm out of meetings because of political dogma and short sightedness, petty name calling. These are playground tactics, 'showboating' and should have no place in the council chamber).....because this gets in the way of getting local isues sorted.

The mindset of politics, in relation to local issues, needs to be altered and altered radically.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

You've nailed it there, I never would have got in as an independent candidate. At the time I wrote to the three existing councillors in Rishton to see how I could get involved and only the Labour councillor responded (Cllr Grayson). He came to my house and I asked him what exactly our representatives do, to which he gave me a tour of the village and got me involved with all the local groups over the course of a few months. I met the Labour group, liked their local ethic and thought to myself that these people were the only ones who had even bothered to respond to my letter.

In comparison we had the local Conservatives, most of whom I get on with very well, but it would have meant being under the wing (some may say 'thumb') of Cllr Britcliffe and I'm afraid that isn't terribly attractive.

To be an Independent you need to have a large personal following, something which I certainly didn't in 2010 (and to be honest, still probably don't now). There are only a handful in Hyndburn and those who have been voted in on that ticket (as opposed to being a mainstream candidate who then changes to being Independent) are very well known in their respective communities.

Independents lack the support of a group when they need it so motions to Council and policies require the backing of a mainstream group anyway. Canvassing would be soul destroying without a campaign team behind you and you get an awful lot of moral support and help when things go a bit bandy. I've had tremendous help on several issues during my time on HBC which I wouldn't have had as an Independent so for all the talk of slashing political ties you're actually putting yourself out on a lonely limb.

I'm not a dyed in the wool red as my colleagues know full well but I'm very definitely on the right local team.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Yes, it has. 8 66.67%
No, it hasn't. 0 0%
They've remained the same. 4 33.33%
Voters: 12. This poll is closed

All that was asked was. Does Power Corrupt ? The answers is in the Poll above. I have just read War and Peace, but I damn love it. This is why I joined in the first place. Keep it up.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Yes, 90% of the time.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Jay, I take your point about not letting the present incumbents stand under the new system (the theoretical one that we know would never happen but it would be nice to think it could), after all if it is good enough for the presidency of the United States it's good enough for a Hyndburn councilor.
Our hypothetical new order would indeed need to be contested by "unknowns", which might be off-putting to a lot of people but, since the present system (in my view) leaves a lot to be desired I don't see it as a bad thing. There would be the problem of experience (or lack of it) but then everyone has to learn by their mistakes. Maybe we could even adopt the US presidency model and stop anyone from being re-elected after a certain amount of time. That would solve a lot of corruption problems.

What a wonderful dream!!!

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

To be honest I don't think that anything on the American model would fly in this country, nor should it, if your talking about corruption in politics, using the yankee plan here would be a disaster, lets face it its not how good you are in the good old US of A its how many bucks you've got behind you. No, rather than going down that road I'll stick with what we've got, and I have to say in all my time in and around local government I certainly haven't seen corruption, misguided individuals who appear from time to time hoping to use there influences for their own purposes, but even those incidents are very very rare, on the whole irrespective of party you get people who set out to try and make a difference, and most of them DO achieve that

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Graham Jones pointed out some years ago that there is hardly a queue of people lined up to be councillors.

Despite the perceived gravy train and corruption, most people realise that it's a thankless, bloody hard job.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Thank you.

:worthy:

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Strange post since your last post agrees that, in the main, you need party support to be elected.

As usual our local meglomaniac MP has only half a grasp of logical thought..There is no queue because of the reasons you outlined in your last post and I'd also suggest that most people aren't prepared to sacrifice independent thought and personal dignity just to become a councillor. (walkouts anyone?)

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Apparently the whoring profession faces the same recruitment difficulties.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

It's actually more a case of very few people having the energy to go through the rigmarole of elections to try and improve their locale when life already presents us with more than enough problems of our own to sort out.

I'm glad I did it and I enjoy the work but there's a lot of flack and every little problem is your fault. You've really got to want to do the job, especially when you realise that everyone who voted for the other guy automatically dislikes you when you win your election. The law of diminishing returns also comes into play when you think that for every person you please there are another ten who are angry (and ALWAYS more vocal about it).

Nobody really adores their local councillor and yet the vast majority have only stood up to try to make life better for everyone. Even Winston Churchill, the most popular politician of all time, got voted out by a disillusioned Great British public.

I'm not quite sure why you view Graham Jones as a megalomaniac and in any case he's spot on in this instance. There isn't a queue of people waiting to be councillors and I've been told that I'm the first in a long time to actively come forward for consideration rather than being asked to stand.

There are several prominent residents in Rishton who I've asked why they never stood for Council and it's always because they simply couldn't be doing with the hassle.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Corruption is an age old problem, born out of greed.

It began with 'pursuit of happiness' and the misguided notion that possession of material goods can bring 'happiness'.

Humanity is at last waking to the knowledge that it doesn't.

The exposure of corruption has become a daily event as those involved in it regain a concience and become 'whistleblowers'.

This has the potential to be very disruptive to our society, but a society built on lies and greed isn't worth living in.

When financial systems collapse people survive on the amount of 'goodwill' they have stored from their actions towards others.

Now is the time to consider whether you have earned enough (goodwill).

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Well its far preferable than the option.:rolleyes:

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Hi Jay,
I wasn't suggesting that we become all American and mom's apple pie, heaven forfend, just that there are checks and balances in the US systems that are there to (supposedly) prevent anyone from becoming too powerful and that can never be a bad thing can it?
If power corrupts, which was the original question I believe, then not allowing too much of it must be welcomed.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Well to be honest I haven't seen too much corruption in my lifetime and certainly not in local politics, there's a difference between corruption and naughties as in the expenses scandal, that was because the system was wrong and had been handed down through the ages, mind you it all depends what your calling corruption doesn't;)

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

I agree there are different levels of corruption and there is certainly a difference between things that go on at local level, whatever that might be, and national and international level. This is an interesting topic though and I agree that most of us on here have never really come into direct contact with corruption at it's worst. I think you have to have a certain amount of power in the first place to encounter it.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Power comes with the position, that's probably why they call it being in power:rolleyes:

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Nice one Jay.
Incidentally, I believe that there are two forms of corruption with regard to power. The corrupt person who seeks and ultimately gains power and the person of principle who is corrupted by opportunity and temptation. I honestly don't know which is worse. I suppose the one who is already corrupt is at least sticking to their principles whilst they who succumbe to corruption abandon theirs (Lib Dems again).
What does anyone else think?

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

I actually think that nobody is corrupt when they set out, be it in politics or any other walk of life, the corruption comes, through opportunity, some people keep on the straight and narrow others are temped by that opportunity. Its just the same as finding a wallet in the street with £200 in it, what do you do, well I'd hand it into the police station, somebody else might think its their luck day and pocket the money, personally I couldn't live with myself if I did that, others wouldn't have any qualms what so ever, its how your made

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

I think that some people will see the 'main chance' and make the most of it......those who start out straight and are seduced by opportunity would always have had that streak in them.

And there is no difference in them...they are both as bad as one another.

Power is not a licence to do as you please at the expense of others....because there is always somebody who pays...usually the little man.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Well said both of you. You are quite probably right. I'm not entirely convinced that no-one sets out to be corrupt though. I think most people have ideals and want to do good but, using an extreme example I admit, do you think Adolf Hitler started off intending to do good? It is quite possible that he originally wanted to make thngs better for the German people but the consequences of his actions need no comment here.
Having said that I may be defeating my own argument as it could be viewed I suppose that Hitler wasn't actually "corrupt" in the way we are discussing. I suppose there is a difference between being corrupt and being, for want oof a better term, evil.

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

In Hitlers case I think there must have been something seriously wrong with him from square one, I have never heard of any suggestion that his intentions were ever anything but evil

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

By The Laws of the Internet, does the mention of Hitler not bring this discussion to a close??

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

are these written or unwritten laws

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

written,
I have mentioned it in another thread, do pay attention Jay.:)

Godwin's Law

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Come on Less don't read all your posts only them that make me laugh, but thanks for the info, never seen that before:rolleyes:

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

As usual that statement makes no sense at all, how do you know which posts won't make you laugh and so you can avoid them?

:confused:

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

Beat me to it Less, I'll look forward to hearing the answer to that one!!

Re: Does power corrupt?
 

I will make no more mention of said person but I would like to say that, on reading the Wikipeadia article on Godwins law it appears to be a convention, not a law as such, as there is no illegality in it. However, I will abide by that rule if it applies on here.
I think that, in general terms, you are right Jay. Some people, and it could be any number of people from history, do appear to be able to achieve power whilst probably being inherently unsuited to wield it, and it is possible that these people are not, indeed, corrupt but simply just bad.
Having thought it through I suppose corruption does come from gaining power as opposed to the "naturally bad" who come to power. In this sense I do agree with you Jay.