It's often said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. I think there are plenty of examples of that going on in the world, but I often wonder what leads power to corrupt individuals. Either people are very good at pretending to be someone they aren't before gaining power through whatever means, be it political, financial, or personal, or the corruption stems from the actual power itself. It's also often said that those that seek power are the ones that deserve it least and those that avoid power are the ones that should be given more of it. I can't really agree or disagree on that statement, but I'll share my thoughts and perspective about the issues that come with power or at least the perception of it.
Power over another person, in any situation, leads to a sense of superiority. Even the most humble of us can find these situations trying to our own moral code. Power doesn't come alone as it often comes with responsibility. Not only do we find ourselves with the power to influence others, but we find ourselves responsible for how we do so. It tends to create an inflated sense of self and a more disparaging view of others. In a leadership or managerial position, we become the decider and those below us become tools to manipulate to accomplish a goal or purpose.
I think part of the problem is that power leads us to dehumanize others. Those below us in the chain are simply things to manipulate and those above us become an authority that we must put on a show for or risk losing our power. It dehumanizes those above and below us, and as much as people may deny these facts, it's near impossible to keep a separate perception of people when we in some way feel power over them or responsibility for them. I believe it's possible to be mindful enough to separate business or politics from personal relationships, but there seems to always be some overlap. Things that we do or say in a business or political setting can affect someone on a personal level, so it's to be expected from my perspective.
For example, if I am friends with my employees and I like them all on a personal level, but they are poor employees, then I am put in the situation of either firing my friends, which will lead to some resentment and hard feelings in most cases, or risk losing my own job trying to cover for them to whatever authority is above me in the chain, which leads to negative feelings or resentment on my end. The problem doesn't really change if I am the sole owner of a business as the cost of running a business becomes the authority over me. I'd imagine the President finds themselves in a similar situation as far as political power goes. We are always in some way held accountable for our actions even if we are the ones holding ourselves accountable.
What about power in personal relationships? I often have people say that relationships are always a power struggle or require give and take. I can see how it's possible that outside authorities or actors can lead to situations becoming unbalanced, but I also think that through mindfulness and mutual self awareness that these problems can be overcome on an interpersonal basis. It would require similar outlooks, mindsets, and beliefs, but there are generally less external power influences on a personal basis. It seems to me that power struggles in these situations would mostly stem from interactions external to the personal relationship. Through mindfulness and self awareness, external impact could then be more manageable as it is either desired or undesirable and we could balance ourselves accordingly.
So I suppose the question then becomes: Does power lead to corruption? The answer I come to is yes, but only if we are not mindful in how we use it or why we have it in the first place. Balance is important in all things and when we remain unbalanced for too long, it's easy to become corrupted. I suppose it's part of the human condition that people pursue power and want the ability to change things they find undesirable, but that is something that we all have to learn for ourselves. If we can't accept people as they are and be respectful of them, then perhaps the corruption is really just a symptom to make others aware of the imbalance and help us to keep ourselves in check. In the end we are all still responsible for finding balance in ourselves or we risk having others tip the scales and forcing us to work for balance from the other end of the equation. Namaste.