Power Corrupts

               


    Lord Acton once said that "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". The key word there is "tends", there are some that use their "power" for good. In the case of Lord of the Rings a central theme of the story is the influence power has over Men, Elves, Wizards, Dwarfs, and Hobbits. This power is personified in a single entity, the Ruling Ring, the Master Ring, the One Ring, the Ring of Power. The Ring, as a metaphor or symbol for power, is the driving force behind every single action in the Lord of the Rings, whether the characters are denying it, accepting it, or fighting it. The acquisition of absolute power by man leads to corruption. 

"With great power comes great responsibility"

-Spider Man

    As people in positions of power they have the ethical obligation to do right by their people and not take advantage of them. Nonetheless, "Power is complex, and affects all those who occupy hierarchic roles" (Blaug 29). Logically we know that power should be wielded wisely, that it should be used for the good of the people and for the strength of the community, but most of all it should be guided by a strong code of ethics. Aragorn and Faramir are examples heroic archetypal leaders; fair and just leaders with power to lead their people down the right path. However, there are endless methods of manipulation to accomplish lordship over others, "naked force, use of all faiths, loyalties, and interest, and the probability that a great many people will usually act as anyone having the power position wishes" (Berle 60). If you have compassionate rulers then on the other side of the coin you must have cruel ones. 

"Corruption by power occurs so frequently we are barely surprised by it. Mad kings, psychotic dictator, insane warlords, unhinged corporate executive and politicians who never understood what they did wrong, all attest to our collective inability to manage elevated power" (Blaug 1).

   Alexander, Tiberius, Caesar, Robespierre, Mugabe, Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler, Thatcher, Lee Kuan, and so on, all these tyrannical leaders abused their power over the people below them. 

Top Ten Corrupt leaders according to Funds Embezzled

If we were to add fictional characters to the list surly Saruman and Sauron would be among them. They used intimidation and fear to get their followers to try and overrun Middle Earth. Corrupt rulers do these unjust acts to get ahead and further themselves and fulfill their own selfish needs; the men who are easily corrupted by power tend to be the ones who have greedy and selfish hearts. Abraham Lincoln, an honest president, once said: "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

To show how power affects people differently I decided to use three descendants from the House of Húrin, Boromir, Faramir, and their father Denethor."And the memory of Boromir, of the dreadful change that the lure of the Ring had worked in him, was very present to his mind, when he looked at Faramir and listened to his voice: unlike the were, and yet also much akin" (The Two Towers 672). Boromir actions came from good intentions the ring corrupted him into thinking the best way to save his city and his people was with the power of the One Ring. "But such is Faramir. Less reckless and eager than Boromir, but not less resolute" (The Return of the King 766). Faramir had the opportunity to take the ring as did Boromir however; Faramir recognized that the One Ring, that held that much power could not be wielded for honest purposes. Now in the case of Denethor, after feeling Sarun's power and strength through a Palantíri and after the death of his son Boromir he was driven further and further into madness until he succumbed to it, taking his own life. All three of these men had good intentions and would have used the Ring of Power with the intent to do good for Gondor and its people, should it have been permitted and wise thing to do so.

How power corrupts neurologically:

Study explores how power gets to the brain

and Psychologically:

How Power Corrupts leaders

    Gollum shows the physical and mental effects of the Ring and its power. However misguided he may be the Ring of Power would not have been destroyed if it were not for Gollum and the corruption the Ring had on him.

    Power, temptation, success, love of land and people, these are some of the driving forces behind the characters in the Lord of the Rings. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions," Galadriel and Gandalf desire the Ring because they believe they could use it to protect Middle Earth, but that isn't realistically possible because the Ring contains the will of Sauron. There have been countless rulers in history whose main objective was to expand their empire and their control over others. Saroun is the same, through Saruman and his army he wishes to expand his power beyond Mordor. Lord Acton "recognized that nations and civilizations fell into decline - not so much because they were powerless but because of their inability to use their power wisely" (Cousins 23). Which in itself is a motive for future rulers who wish to prevent their nation's fall. Saruman's main motive was his thirst for knowledge which led to his undoing.

"Once he (Saruman) was as great as his fame made him. His knowledge was deep, his thought was subtle, and his hands marvelously skilled; and he had power over the minds of others. The wise he could persuade, and the smaller folk he could daunt. That power he certainly still keeps" (The Two Towers 567). 

    Another thing to take into account is a person's strength of will and heart, the Ring primarily takes control and dominance over people with weak hearts that lack a moral compass. The need for power isn't as strong in Hobbits like it is in men. Frodo faces the temptation of the Ring of Power every day that he carries it on his journey to Mount Doom. Though he doesn't give in completely till he reaches the volcano the power the ring holds still affects his actions. You could say in a way he takes advantage of Gollum using him to further his own needs even if he has good intentions and Gollum isn't the best of characters. Even the most pure hearted character in the story, Samwise Gamgee, wonders what it would be like to possess the Ring.

Though it doesn't seem to play a role in Middle Earth at least not that Tolkien seems to focus on, economic power seems to be behind everything in our world today. However, "the rich man has little power merely because he is rich. He does nevertheless; in certain fields have avenues to power not readily available to poor men" (Berle 216). I find that in the real world in place of the One Ring there is money which people always want more of.

    Even when the Ring is destroyed there will still be corrupt power in the world getting rid of it won't make the world a perfect place which could also be said for the world today. In the case of Lord of the Rings, some used power for selfish purposes, others wished to use it for good, and some knew that its power could not be wielded for the good of Middle Earth. In conclusion, it is true that not all are corrupted by power, but I believe that all can be tempted by it, even the ones most pure of heart. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing; Tolkien used corruption to test his characters, to show what lies deep down in their hearts. Corruption shows who we can trust and who we elect to follow, whether that is a true leader like Aragorn or a tyrant like Sauron.

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Works Cited

Berle, Adolf A. "Power: A Desire and A Social Necessity." Power. New York:                     Harcourt, Brace & World, 1969. Print.

Blaug, Ricardo. How Power Corrupts: Cognition and Democracy in                                  Organisations. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Print.

Cousins, Norman. The Pathology of Power. New York: Norton, 1987. Print.

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. New York: Mariner/Houghton Mifflin                      Harcourt, 2012. Print.


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• Fun fact while writing this paper I listened to the complete Lord of the Rings Score by Howard Shore, feel free to check it out below.