I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they do no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way against holders of power...power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Lord Acton

Categorized in : Men Kings Power

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. by Lord Acton

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

leadership work inspirational

Socialism means slavery. by Lord Acton

Socialism means slavery.

eugenics political mean

Men cannot be made good by the state, but they can easily be made... by Lord Acton

Men cannot be made good by the state, but they can easily be made bad. Morality depends on liberty.

morality liberty men

The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later is the people versus the banks.

issues political people

The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern: eve... by Lord Acton

The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern: every class is unfit to govern.

government rights class

It is easier to find people fit to govern themselves than people... by Lord Acton

It is easier to find people fit to govern themselves than people fit to govern others.

easier fit people

Authority that does not exist for Liberty is not authority but fo... by Lord Acton

Authority that does not exist for Liberty is not authority but force.

liberty authority doe

A wise person does at once, what a fool does at last. Both do the same thing; only at different times.

wise success time

And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that.

men peace hands

Great men are almost always bad men. by Lord Acton

Great men are almost always bad men.

corrupt-power power-corrupts men

The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority, or rather of that party, not always the majority, that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.

majority-rule democracies-have party

History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the... by Lord Acton

History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul.

illumination soul memories

Federalism is the best curb on democracy. [It] assigns limited powers to the central government. Thereby all power is limited. It excludes absolute power of the majority.

majority democracy government

Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of... by Lord Acton

Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought.

diversity challenges justice

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority.

influence-and-power exercise men

It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be op... by Lord Acton

It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority.

democracies-have equality freedom

The true guide of our conduct is no outward authority, but the voice of God, who comes down to dwell in our souls, who knows all our thoughts, to whom are owing all the truth we know, and all the good we do; for vice is voluntary, and virtue comes from the grace of the heavenly spirit within.

voice grace god

The possession of unlimited power corrodes the conscience, hardens the heart, and confounds the understanding.

atheism understanding heart

Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself th... by Lord Acton

Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.

freedom wisdom mean

The finest opportunity ever given to the world was thrown away because the passion of equality made vain the hope for freedom.

passion freedom opportunity