Does Power Corrupt?

Paul Blumenthal of the Sunlight Foundation, tells readers of his blog that a new study reveals that power doesn't corrupt politicians or CEOs. He links his post to an article published by Jeanna Bryner in Live Science.

Bryner writes that the results of the study, "detailed in the December issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, also suggest powerful people, such as CEOs and other higher-ups, including Obama, might be protected from corruption, especially if it goes against their personal values." http://www.livescience.com/culture/081205-power-influence.html

"People want leaders who are ideally beyond reproach, someone who is a good and moral person and will do the right thing even when bestowed with this tremendous power." Said Daniel Kruger, a social and evolutionary psychologist a the University of Michigan's School of Public Health in a second article in Live Science.

No doubt about it, with power, comes responsibility. A good and moral leader may handle power more responsibly than a leader who does not possess strong values.

Sunlight’s Bill Allison, at Real Time Investigations, links to a Many Eyes presentation of the Blagojevich criminal complaint.

He tells us that the visualization makes one thing clear: while the selling of the Senate seat is by far his most audacious activity, the rest of the charges are actually far, far worse.

The imperious pressure the Governor put on the Tribune Company to fire editorial board members and staff is reminiscent of a third world dictator.

The pay-to-play contract rigging is also horrific.

Allison says, Just look at this:

"On October 8, Blagojevich told Individual A that he wanted to obtain a $50,000 contribution from Hospital Executive 1, the chief executive officer of Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, which had recently received a commitment of $8 million in state funds. When the contribution was not forthcoming, Blagojevich discussed with Deputy Governor A the feasibility of rescinding the funding."

The Governor threatened to close a Children’s Hospital over a lousy $50,000 campaign contribution. http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/2008/12/09/many-eyes-and-blago/

Apparently, ethics and behavior play a roll in the quality of representation we receive from elected officials.