Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely

Cultural  

1. An observation that a person's sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. The statement was made by Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

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Example Sentences

The British historian Lord Acton famously put it like this: “Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

From Seattle Times

Because this case arose from allegations of corruption, it calls to mind Lord Acton’s famous warning that “all power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

From Washington Post