I would argue that without positive reinforcement to shape our attitudes the pursuit of power and the pursuit of morality would be indistinguishable on both a biological and cognitive level. Choices we make for any reason are justified on a bio-mechanical level with or without the blessing of evolutionary imperatives; from this perspective, corruption becomes a term that may require some clarification. This article suggests that corruption might be defined as the misappropriation of shared resources for personal gain; I like this definition, but I’m not sure I like it enough to be comfortable with an ethics based on the assumption that people are vaguely immoral given the opportunity.
My problem here is that power is a poorly defined state. It’s not something that can be directly perceived. I’m not sure I have a frame of reference for what it feels like to be empowered over others. For this reason alone, I find some of the article’s generalizations about the human condition disturbing—I’m not trying to alienate so much as prevent myself from being alienated by a description of the human condition wherein my emotional pallet does not exist.
So I intend to suggest an alternative interpretation of why “power corrupts” and you all on the internet can tell me what you think, but first I think I need a better grasp on what is meant here by the process of corruption. The type of power we are discussing seems to be best described as the ability to shape the will of others to serve your own purposes.
Of course, alternative ways of structuring society are hinted at throughout the article, and I’d be just as happy to see suggestions as to ways that culture might produce power structures that are less inherently corrupting.
Finally, insofar as this article represents a chain in a larger argument (a truly wonderful, fascinating argument), I think its wonderful.
I would argue that without positive reinforcement to shape our attitudes the pursuit of power and the pursuit of morality would be indistinguishable on both a biological and cognitive level. Choices we make for any reason are justified on a bio-mechanical level with or without the blessing of evolutionary imperatives; from this perspective, corruption becomes a term that may require some clarification. This article suggests that corruption might be defined as the misappropriation of shared resources for personal gain; I like this definition, but I’m not sure I like it enough to be comfortable with an ethics based on the assumption that people are vaguely immoral given the opportunity.
My problem here is that power is a poorly defined state. It’s not something that can be directly perceived. I’m not sure I have a frame of reference for what it feels like to be empowered over others. For this reason alone, I find some of the article’s generalizations about the human condition disturbing—I’m not trying to alienate so much as prevent myself from being alienated by a description of the human condition wherein my emotional pallet does not exist.
So I intend to suggest an alternative interpretation of why “power corrupts” and you all on the internet can tell me what you think, but first I think I need a better grasp on what is meant here by the process of corruption. The type of power we are discussing seems to be best described as the ability to shape the will of others to serve your own purposes.
Of course, alternative ways of structuring society are hinted at throughout the article, and I’d be just as happy to see suggestions as to ways that culture might produce power structures that are less inherently corrupting.
Finally, insofar as this article represents a chain in a larger argument (a truly wonderful, fascinating argument), I think its wonderful.