--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who seek absolute power, even…" description: "\"Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/barry-goldwater-3353_absolute-power_those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-thoug_840193.png" --- # Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to… ![“Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those…” quote by Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/barry-goldwater-3353_absolute-power_those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-thoug_840193.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/barry-goldwater-3353_absolute-power_those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-thoug_840193.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/barry-goldwater-3353_absolute-power_those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-thoug_840193.png) > “Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed.” [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Absolute power inevitably leads to oppression, even when claimed as benevolent, and creates tyrannical regimes. **In simple terms:** Power corrupts and creates tyranny. Key Takeaway Question power, protect liberty. Themes politics ethics authority tyranny corruption Mood cautious critical reflective Type advice political philosophical When to use this quote - government oversight - civil society activism - rights advocacy - educational curricula Key Concepts philosophy political theory human nature Questions to Reflect On - How can societies prevent good intentions from becoming tyranny? - What safeguards deter absolute authority? A Different Perspective Even well‑intentioned leaders can become oppressors if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolute power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-power/) [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Heaven on earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-on-earth/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) ## Related quotes > [“Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-though-they-seek-it-to-do-what/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Everywhere we seek the Absolute, and always we find only things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/everywhere-we-seek-the-absolute-and-always-we-find-only-things/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [When was the last time I chose to be happy rather than demanding to be right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-k-burton/when-was-the-last-time-i-chose-to-be-happy-rather-than-demanding-to/) [Linda K. Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-k-burton/) > [We don't think that we're begging for anything. We think we're demanding what is ours by right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/we-don-t-think-that-we-re-begging-for-anything-we-think-we-re/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [If you are an eighteen or nineteen-year-old with little education, as is often the case, and you're put in charge of many, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaroslav-trofimov/if-you-are-an-eighteen-or-nineteen-year-old-with-little-education-as/) [Yaroslav Trofimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaroslav-trofimov/) > [“With absolute power, corruption and evil seep in humanity, and that evil continues to flourish as the good of humankind lies idle in darkness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-absolute-power-corruption-and-evil-seep-in-humanity-and-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God cannot approve of a system of servitude, in which the master is guilty of assuming absolute power - of assuming God's place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/god-cannot-approve-of-a-system-of-servitude-in-which-the-master-is/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [The Book of Job is advice on how to live in terms of the absolute power of nature. Leviathan is advice on how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-phillip-verene/the-book-of-job-is-advice-on-how-to-live-in-terms-of-the-absolute/) [Donald Phillip Verene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-phillip-verene/) > [Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/unlimited-power-is-apt-to-corrupt-the-minds-of-those-who-possess-it/) [William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/) > [A nation of slaves is always prepared to applaud the clemency of their master who, in the abuse of absolute power, does not proceed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/a-nation-of-slaves-is-always-prepared-to-applaud-the-clemency-of/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Absolute power, as we have always known, corrupts absolutely; it corrupts because it does not do the trick for the individual. Reality always creeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/absolute-power-as-we-have-always-known-corrupts-absolutely-it/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Sometimes we like to think if we had power, that we would be different, and we would be omnipotent, but the truth is absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ackie/sometimes-we-like-to-think-if-we-had-power-that-we-would-be-different/) [Naomi Ackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ackie/) > [“As Israel made the wants of his national existence the law of the world, as under the dominance of these wants he deified even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/as-israel-made-the-wants-of-his-national-existence-the-law-of-the/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-emerich-edward-dalberg-acton/power-tends-to-corrupt-and-absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely-great/) [John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-emerich-edward-dalberg-acton/) ## More by Barry Goldwater > [Remember that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/remember-that-a-government-big-enough-to-give-you-everything-you-want/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [To insist on strength ... is not war-mongering. It is peace-mongering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/to-insist-on-strength-is-not-war-mongering-it-is-peace-mongering/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Social and cultural change, however desirable, should not be effected by the engines of national power. Let us, through persuasion and education, seek to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/social-and-cultural-change-however-desirable-should-not-be-effected/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Having spent 37 years of my life in the military as a reservist, and never having met a gay in all of that time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/having-spent-37-years-of-my-life-in-the-military-as-a-reservist-and/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Some programs have been theatrical masterpieces, but all we're seeing is the negative side of nuclear war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/some-programs-have-been-theatrical-masterpieces-but-all-we-re-seeing/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [My mother took us to services at the Episcopal church. Yet she always said that God was not just inside the four walls of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/my-mother-took-us-to-services-at-the-episcopal-church-yet-she-always/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [You don't need to be straight to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/you-don-t-need-to-be-straight-to-fight-and-die-for-your-country-you/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents' "interests," I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/and-if-i-should-later-be-attacked-for-neglecting-my-constituents/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Nixon was the most dishonest individual I have ever met in my life. He lied to his wife, his family, his friends, his colleagues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/nixon-was-the-most-dishonest-individual-i-have-ever-met-in-my-life-he/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Forced integration is just as wrong as forced segregation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/forced-integration-is-just-as-wrong-as-forced-segregation/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Religious factions will go on imposing their will on others unless the decent people connected to them recognize that religion has no place in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/religious-factions-will-go-on-imposing-their-will-on-others-unless/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Government should stay the hell out of people's business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/government-should-stay-the-hell-out-of-people-s-business/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [I think some highly secret government UFO investigations are going on that we don't know about--and probably never will unless the Air Force discloses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/i-think-some-highly-secret-government-ufo-investigations-are-going-on/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Conservatism, we are told, is out-of-date. This charge is preposterous and we ought to boldly say so. The laws of God, and of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/conservatism-we-are-told-is-out-of-date-this-charge-is-preposterous/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Once upon a time our traditional goal in war and can anyone doubt that we are at war? - was victory. Once upon a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/once-upon-a-time-our-traditional-goal-in-war-and-can-anyone-doubt/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) [Explore all 133 Barry Goldwater quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) ## More Absolute power quotes > [“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-emerich-edward-dalberg-acton/power-tends-to-corrupt-and-absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely-great/) [John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-emerich-edward-dalberg-acton/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“As Israel made the wants of his national existence the law of the world, as under the dominance of these wants he deified even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/as-israel-made-the-wants-of-his-national-existence-the-law-of-the/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [Sometimes we like to think if we had power, that we would be different, and we would be omnipotent, but the truth is absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ackie/sometimes-we-like-to-think-if-we-had-power-that-we-would-be-different/) [Naomi Ackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ackie/) > [Absolute power, as we have always known, corrupts absolutely; it corrupts because it does not do the trick for the individual. Reality always creeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/absolute-power-as-we-have-always-known-corrupts-absolutely-it/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [A nation of slaves is always prepared to applaud the clemency of their master who, in the abuse of absolute power, does not proceed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/a-nation-of-slaves-is-always-prepared-to-applaud-the-clemency-of/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/unlimited-power-is-apt-to-corrupt-the-minds-of-those-who-possess-it/) [William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/) > [The Book of Job is advice on how to live in terms of the absolute power of nature. Leviathan is advice on how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-phillip-verene/the-book-of-job-is-advice-on-how-to-live-in-terms-of-the-absolute/) [Donald Phillip Verene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-phillip-verene/) > [God cannot approve of a system of servitude, in which the master is guilty of assuming absolute power - of assuming God's place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/god-cannot-approve-of-a-system-of-servitude-in-which-the-master-is/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [“With absolute power, corruption and evil seep in humanity, and that evil continues to flourish as the good of humankind lies idle in darkness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-absolute-power-corruption-and-evil-seep-in-humanity-and-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you are an eighteen or nineteen-year-old with little education, as is often the case, and you're put in charge of many, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaroslav-trofimov/if-you-are-an-eighteen-or-nineteen-year-old-with-little-education-as/) [Yaroslav Trofimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaroslav-trofimov/) > [“As history has also shown, especially in the twentieth century, one of the first things an ideologue will do after achieving absolute power is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/as-history-has-also-shown-especially-in-the-twentieth-century-one-of/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [We're taught Lord Acton's axiom: all power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I believed that when I started these books, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/we-re-taught-lord-acton-s-axiom-all-power-corrupts-absolute-power/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Absolute power can only be supported by error, ignorance and prejudice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/absolute-power-can-only-be-supported-by-error-ignorance-and-prejudice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Has justice ever grown in the soil of absolute power? Has not justice always come from the ... heart and spirit of men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/has-justice-ever-grown-in-the-soil-of-absolute-power-has-not-justice/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) [Browse all 180 Absolute power quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-power/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barry Goldwater" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-though-they-seek-it-to-do-what-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absolute power" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-though-they-seek-it-to-do-what-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/barry-goldwater-3353_absolute-power_those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-thoug_840193.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/barry-goldwater-3353_absolute-power_those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-thoug_840193.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/barry-goldwater-3353_absolute-power_those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-thoug_840193.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding…” — Barry Goldwater", "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": "Barry Goldwater", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Those who seek absolute power, even...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-though-they-seek-it-to-do-what-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-though-they-seek-it-to-do-what-2/#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 } } ] } ```