Anirudh Week 9: The Corruption of Power
A few years ago, I read Animal Farm by George Orwell. Although the book seemed unexciting at first, it quickly became a captivating story that highlighted an inherent property of power. In the book, the animals on the farm rebel against their human owners and establish their own rule. They create a class hierarchy based on the “reputation” of each species. In particular, the pigs, who are considered the smartest, give the orders and are excused from working.
However, as time passes, the pigs increasingly abuse their power, eventually becoming exactly like the humans that they hated—living in the house, eating human food, drinking human drinks, etc. The situation on the farm comes full circle: the other animals are forced to live in difficult conditions like before, but instead of humans ruling over them, it is now the pigs.
The story interested me because it was a wonderful use of symbolism to illustrate how power can corrupt people and make them greedy. The pigs, who were initially passionate about removing the tyrannical rule of the humans, became just like their enemies. The power took control of them due to the luxuries it presented, and the pigs simply continued to desire more.
In many instances throughout history, power has caused people to engage in unethical behavior. Even today, corruption due to power is a glaring issue. There are often politicians, businesspeople, and other powerful figures who resort to illegal methods to benefit themselves. The need for power and control drives people to be corrupt, and others are forced to suffer as a result.
Power is like alcohol. A taste of it can spark a burning desire inside someone to have as much as possible, regardless of how harmful it might be. It becomes an addiction, one that could be so extreme that it leads to dire consequences.
This begs the question, can corruption due to power be avoided?
Yes … and no. Evidently, an honest person can restrain themselves from becoming addicted. However, as I mentioned before, corruption is an inherent property of power. In other words, where there is power, there will be some sort of corruption.
It is as the British politician Lord Acton once said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Hi Anirudh! I thoroughly enjoyed your blog as I found it very distinct and refreshing, about…fascist animals? Jokes aside, I found your piece a refreshing read and extremely interesting as I agree with your interpretation on how the authoritarian pigs represent the greed of American politicians in present day society. I also find it quite ironic on how the animals overthrow humans just to be replaced by the pigs; thus, effectively supporting your claim on how power influences corruption. Also as a side note, animals creating a hierarchical caste system based on the representation of species is quite troubling and crude-Anirudh should I be concerned this is your preferred literature (just joking as always)? I also find your blog quite timely as we just began reading Miller’s The Crucible where you can see many parallels to corruption in Salem’s theocracy. Specifically, Miller discussed-in the interview we took notes on in class-about how a circle of fear and distrust fanned the flames of paranoia both during the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy era. Thus, I think there can be a sense of connection between how power influences corruption which creates events such as these where opposing groups are silenced. While reading your blog I found your usage of an informal tone and rhetorical questions helped bring the audience in and internally ruminate the questions and concepts you posed. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
ReplyDeleteYour interpretation of this book is genuinely so intriguing! I haven't read a book in that kind of genre in a while, and the way you describe your personal interpretation of it honestly makes me want to read it for myself. This, too, reminds me of how people are prone to becoming the very people they hate, and I could see how power could play such a crucial role in this kind of process. Power truly is destructive if it is able to achieve something as brutal as transforming others into the worst versions of themselves. Unfortunately, like the pigs mentioned in Animal Farm, most authoritative figures are blind to the fact that power has completely swallowed them whole. They no longer share the same experiences and struggles of the people they now control, their mindset slowly becoming the victim of this power.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I enjoyed your little analogy of power to alcohol. Not only can alcohol cause you to have absolutely no control over your body's actions when using it, but the moment you start abusing the alcohol, the side effects of its consumption start to slowly decrease, making you crave for more without realizing its consequences. I also agree with the fact that there will always be corruption lingering with the use of power, although I think it would've been lovely to know how you could connect these ideas of corruption to your alcohol analogy. But even then, the way you were able to format this blog in such a way that is easy for me to follow along--such as with the use of rhetorical questions--was overall enjoyable that I think my suggestion might be a little too extraneous and could complicate the writing. Loved reading this first blog of yours, Anirudh, and I look forward to seeing more of your writing style in the future.
I really enjoyed your description of the novel; it sounds like a fascinating and worthwhile read! I also think that your analysis of the themes of the book are quite insightful, and (unfortunately) ring true.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that powerful individuals are often corrupt, although in some of those cases, it's worth asking whether it was power that turned them corrupt or whether a person has to be corrupt in the first place to gain that sort of power. Regardless, power can certainly cause change in people for the worse, not just in the most powerful of individuals, but in anyone with any sort of advantage or privilege.
One example we can turn to is early American immigrants. As the descriptor suggests, these people were able to come to America and seek better lives for themselves because of immigration policies. Yet, after settling, many of these people or their lineages turned against those very immigration policies. But why would that happen? Well, they wanted to keep the benefits of immigrating to and living in America for themselves. Once they obtained a few advantages and benefits, they wanted to prevent others from accessing them, regardless of how hypocritical it might seem.
In some ways, selfishness is in human nature, so it can be difficult to resist wanting to keep power and advantages for yourself. Nonetheless, we should all strive to not let power corrupt ourselves and turn us into the very people that we once would have despised.