--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If power corrupts, weakness in the seat…" description: "\"If power corrupts, weakness in the seat of power, with its constant necessity of deals and bribes and compromising arrangements,corrupts even more.\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fac/barbara-tuchman-3945_arrangements_if-power-corrupts-weakness-in-the-seat-o_557565.png" --- # If power corrupts, weakness in the seat of power, with its… ![“If power corrupts, weakness in the seat of power, with its constant necessity of deals and bribes and compromising arrangements,corrupts even more.” quote by Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fac/barbara-tuchman-3945_arrangements_if-power-corrupts-weakness-in-the-seat-o_557565.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fac/barbara-tuchman-3945_arrangements_if-power-corrupts-weakness-in-the-seat-o_557565.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fac/barbara-tuchman-3945_arrangements_if-power-corrupts-weakness-in-the-seat-o_557565.png) > “If power corrupts, weakness in the seat of power, with its constant necessity of deals and bribes and compromising arrangements,corrupts even more.” [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power attracts corruption, and the inherent weakness of those in authority fuels further corruption through deals and compromises. **In simple terms:** Power and weakness together breed more corruption. Key Takeaway Guard against unchecked authority. Themes politics ethics corruption Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - government - corporate leadership - negotiations - policy making Key Concepts power dynamics institutional weakness moral compromise Questions to Reflect On - What checks can limit corrupt influence? - How does power concentration affect integrity? A Different Perspective Power can be mitigated by transparent systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrangements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrangements/) [Bribe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bribe/) [Compromise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromise/) [Corruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power corrupts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-corrupts/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) ## Related quotes > [Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/power-corrupts-the-few-while-weakness-corrupts-the-many/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [It has often been said that power corrupts. But it is perhaps equally important to realize that weakness, too, corrupts. Power corrupts the few,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-has-often-been-said-that-power-corrupts-but-it-is-perhaps-equally/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [ Absolute truisms rot brains absolutely.\[...\]'Power corrupts' is useless as a tool for understanding the past, and gives us nothing as a guide to action. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-brust/absolute-truisms-rot-brains-absolutely-power-corrupts-is-useless-as-a/) [Steven Brust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-brust/) > [“I know, better than anyone else, that there are no heroes coming to save us. There are no good Epics. None of them protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-know-better-than-anyone-else-that-there-are-no-heroes-coming-to/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Power corrupts, but lack of power corrupts absolutely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-stevenson-i/power-corrupts-but-lack-of-power-corrupts-absolutely/) [Adlai Stevenson I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-stevenson-i/) > [In the United States, though power corrupts, the expectation of power paralyzes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/in-the-united-states-though-power-corrupts-the-expectation-of-power/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/power-corrupts-and-absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [Power corrupts, and obsolete power corrupts obsoletely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/power-corrupts-and-obsolete-power-corrupts-obsoletely/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [Power corrupts.Absolute power corrupts absolutely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/power-corrupts-absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [“power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutley”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/power-corrupts-absolute-power-corrupts-absolutley/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [Absolute power corrupts absolutely .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/all-governments-suffer-a-recurring-problem-power-attracts/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [If all power corrupts, then a doctor, who literally holds life and death in his hands, must be at particular risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/if-all-power-corrupts-then-a-doctor-who-literally-holds-life-and/) [P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/) > [What is true is that the idea of power corrupts. Power corrupts most rapidly those who believe in it, and it is they who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/what-is-true-is-that-the-idea-of-power-corrupts-power-corrupts-most/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [All power corrupts but some must govern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/all-power-corrupts-but-some-must-govern/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) ## More by Barbara Tuchman > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Doctrine tied itself into infinite knots over the realities of sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/doctrine-tied-itself-into-infinite-knots-over-the-realities-of-sex/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The fleet sailed to its war base in the North Sea, headed not so much for some rendezvous with glory as for rendezvous with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-fleet-sailed-to-its-war-base-in-the-north-sea-headed-not-so-much/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Learning from experience is a faculty almost never practiced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/learning-from-experience-is-a-faculty-almost-never-practiced/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [War is the unfolding of miscalculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/war-is-the-unfolding-of-miscalculations/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The poets have familiarized more people with history than have the historians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-poets-have-familiarized-more-people-with-history-than-have-the/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Money was the crux. Raising money to pay the cost of war was to cause more damage to 14th century society than the physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/money-was-the-crux-raising-money-to-pay-the-cost-of-war-was-to-cause/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The power to command frequently causes failure to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-power-to-command-frequently-causes-failure-to-think/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [We seem to be afflicted by a widespread and eroding reluctance to take any stand on any values, moral, behavioral or esthetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/we-seem-to-be-afflicted-by-a-widespread-and-eroding-reluctance-to/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ The clergy \[in the 14th century\] on the whole were probably no more lecherous or greedy or untrustworthy than other men, but because they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-clergy-in-the-14th-century-on-the-whole-were-probably-no-more/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/without-books-history-is-silent-literature-dumb-science-crippled/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Words are seductive and dangerous material, to be used with caution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/words-are-seductive-and-dangerous-material-to-be-used-with-caution/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [“German soldiers, posted as informers, were found dressed as peasants, even as peasant women. The latter were discovered, presumably in the course of non-military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/german-soldiers-posted-as-informers-were-found-dressed-as-peasants/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I ask myself, have nations ever declined from a loss of moral sense rather than from physical reasons or the pressure of barbarians? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/i-ask-myself-have-nations-ever-declined-from-a-loss-of-moral-sense/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) [Explore all 119 Barbara Tuchman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## More Arrangements quotes > [for the obvious reason that nature - unadulterated and unimproved by man - is simply chaos. In fact, the camera proves that nature is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/for-the-obvious-reason-that-nature-unadulterated-and-unimproved-by/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Order is a prerequisite of survival; therefore the impulse to produce orderly arrangements is inbred by evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/order-is-a-prerequisite-of-survival-therefore-the-impulse-to-produce/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [If you are any competent musician, if you have creative ideas, ideas of songs, of arrangements, in a band like the Stones, where these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-wyman/if-you-are-any-competent-musician-if-you-have-creative-ideas-ideas-of/) [Bill Wyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-wyman/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [Conservatism defends those coercive arrangements which a still-lingering savageness makes requisite. Radicalism endeavours to realize a state more in harmony with the character of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/conservatism-defends-those-coercive-arrangements-which-a-still/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The Beatles have a deeper appreciation of all music. There's a humor, there's a Broadway sense, and later on, the Indian stuff came in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-vivino/the-beatles-have-a-deeper-appreciation-of-all-music-there-s-a-humor/) Jimmy Vivino > [Marriage must cease to be a matter of arrangement made by parents for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/marriage-must-cease-to-be-a-matter-of-arrangement-made-by-parents-for/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Abundance, like everything else in the universe, is simply a specific arrangement of energy and information. With our intention, we can change the energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/abundance-like-everything-else-in-the-universe-is-simply-a-specific/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [One of the proven ways of getting workers more involved with their jobs is by dovetailing employee profit-sharing and stock ownership plans with greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-k-javits/one-of-the-proven-ways-of-getting-workers-more-involved-with-their/) [Jacob K. Javits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-k-javits/) > [Much of a behavior acceptable today would be socially offensive in a saner or more logical arrangement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/much-of-a-behavior-acceptable-today-would-be-socially-offensive-in-a/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Any new legal measures, or cooperative arrangements between government and companies meant to keep people from organizing violence or criminal actions, must not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/any-new-legal-measures-or-cooperative-arrangements-between-government/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [But since the Modernists (as they are commonly and rightly called) employ a very clever artifice, namely, to present their doctrines without order and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-x/but-since-the-modernists-as-they-are-commonly-and-rightly-called/) [Pope Pius X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-x/) > [There must be a judicious arrangement of all the parts. Considered conversely, the artist's task is to fill his panel with a design that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/there-must-be-a-judicious-arrangement-of-all-the-parts-considered/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Autonomy means women defining themselves and the values by which they will live, and beginning to think of institutional arrangements which will order their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/autonomy-means-women-defining-themselves-and-the-values-by-which-they/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [Donald Trump has the media wrapped around his little finger. And this is a contributing factor to why so many people are bothered and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-has-the-media-wrapped-around-his-little-finger-and-this/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) [Browse all 536 Arrangements quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrangements/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If power corrupts, weakness in the seat of power, with its constant necessity of deals and bribes and compromising arrangements,corrupts even more.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Tuchman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/if-power-corrupts-weakness-in-the-seat-of-power-with-its-constant/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arrangements" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/if-power-corrupts-weakness-in-the-seat-of-power-with-its-constant/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fac/barbara-tuchman-3945_arrangements_if-power-corrupts-weakness-in-the-seat-o_557565.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fac/barbara-tuchman-3945_arrangements_if-power-corrupts-weakness-in-the-seat-o_557565.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fac/barbara-tuchman-3945_arrangements_if-power-corrupts-weakness-in-the-seat-o_557565.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If power corrupts, weakness in the seat of power, with its constant necessity of deals and bribes and…” — Barbara Tuchman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara Tuchman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If power corrupts, weakness in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/if-power-corrupts-weakness-in-the-seat-of-power-with-its-constant/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/if-power-corrupts-weakness-in-the-seat-of-power-with-its-constant/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```