--- 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/107/barry-goldwater-3353_absolute-power_those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-thoug_822461.jpg" --- # 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/107/barry-goldwater-3353_absolute-power_those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-thoug_822461.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/barry-goldwater-3353_absolute-power_those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-thoug_822461.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/barry-goldwater-3353_absolute-power_those-who-seek-absolute-power-even-thoug_822461.jpg) > ““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. Their mistaken course stems from false notions of equality, ladies and gentlemen. Equality, rightly understood, as our founding fathers understood it, leads to liberty and to the emancipation of creative differences. Wrongly understood, as it has been so tragically in our time, it leads first to conformity and then to despotism. Fellow Republicans, it is the cause of Republicanism to resist concentrations of power, private or public, which enforce such conformity and inflict such despotism. It is the cause of Republicanism to ensure that power remains in the hands of the people. ”” [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 tends to corrupt, turning idealistic intentions into oppressive regimes; true equality supports liberty and diversity. **In simple terms:** Power corrupts; true equality protects freedom and diversity. Key Takeaway Guard against concentration of power and uphold individual liberty. Themes power corruption equality liberty democracy Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical political When to use this quote - government policy - civil rights activism - legislative debates - educational curricula Key Concepts authoritarianism political philosophy constitutionalism Questions to Reflect On - How can societies detect early signs of power abuse? - What mechanisms best preserve liberty while ensuring equality? A Different Perspective Power structures can be complex and not always overtly tyrannical. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolute power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-power/) [Founding fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/founding-fathers/) [Heaven on earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-on-earth/) [Ladies and gentlemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ladies-and-gentlemen/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Republicanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republicanism/) ## Related quotes > [Equality, rightly understood as our founding fathers understood it, leads to liberty and to the emancipation of creative differences; wrongly understood, as it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/equality-rightly-understood-as-our-founding-fathers-understood-it/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [And the associated danger for the identity of Europe cannot be ignored out of a wrongly understood sense of respect... 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However, it was the great 18th century social philosophers John Locke, Thomas Hobbes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mainwaring/the-theory-of-social-contracts-extends-as-far-back-as-plato-however/) [Simon Mainwaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mainwaring/) ## 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. 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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. 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Equality, rightly understood, as our founding fathers understood it, leads to liberty and to the emancipation of creative differences. Wrongly understood, as it has been so tragically in our time, it leads first to conformity and then to despotism. Fellow Republicans, it is the cause of Republicanism to resist concentrations of power, private or public, which enforce such conformity and inflict such despotism. 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