--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Power tends to corrupt - so we should, in…" description: "\"Power tends to corrupt - so we should, in both the public and the private spheres, be on guard against, and erect sturdy guardrails against, the corrup..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/bill-kristol-22119_against_power-tends-to-corrupt-so-we-should-in-b_794472.jpg" --- # Power tends to corrupt - so we should, in both the public… ![“Power tends to corrupt - so we should, in both the public and the private spheres, be on guard against, and erect sturdy guardrails against, the corruptions of power.” quote by Bill Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/bill-kristol-22119_against_power-tends-to-corrupt-so-we-should-in-b_794472.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/bill-kristol-22119_against_power-tends-to-corrupt-so-we-should-in-b_794472.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/bill-kristol-22119_against_power-tends-to-corrupt-so-we-should-in-b_794472.jpg) > “Power tends to corrupt - so we should, in both the public and the private spheres, be on guard against, and erect sturdy guardrails against, the corruptions of power.” [Bill Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kristol/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power corrupts; safeguards are needed in both public and private sectors to prevent abuse. **In simple terms:** Power can corrupt, so we need guardrails. Key Takeaway Implement strong checks on authority. Themes power corruption ethics governance policy Mood concerned analytical Type prescriptive political When to use this quote - government - corporate leadership - nonprofits Key Concepts checks and balances institutional design moral responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure accountability? - What mechanisms best prevent abuse? A Different Perspective Guardrails can be ignored if not enforced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Tends To Corrupt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-tends-to-corrupt/) ## Related quotes > [The illegitimate money made by corrupt public servants and the power that it gives them is then also used to perpetuate them in office.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prashant-bhushan/the-illegitimate-money-made-by-corrupt-public-servants-and-the-power/) [Prashant Bhushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prashant-bhushan/) > [Those who corrupt the public mind are just as evil as those who steal from the public purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson/those-who-corrupt-the-public-mind-are-just-as-evil-as-those-who-steal-3/) [Adlai E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson/) > [“Those who corrupt the public mind are just as evil as those who steal from the public purse. Adlai Stevenson”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagwa-malik/those-who-corrupt-the-public-mind-are-just-as-evil-as-those-who-steal/) Nagwa Malik > [Those who corrupt the public mind are just as evil as those who steal from the public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/those-who-corrupt-the-public-mind-are-just-as-evil-as-those-who-steal-2/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [That the corruption of the best thing produces the worst, is grown into a maxim, and is commonly proved, among other instances, by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/that-the-corruption-of-the-best-thing-produces-the-worst-is-grown/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Corruption is another tax on the consumer and it is the Maltese families who are forking the money to make up for such corruptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-muscat/corruption-is-another-tax-on-the-consumer-and-it-is-the-maltese/) [Joseph Muscat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-muscat/) > [Politics, as the word is commonly understood, are nothing but corruptions, and consequently of no use to a good king or a good ministry;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/politics-as-the-word-is-commonly-understood-are-nothing-but-2/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [War is both the product of an earlier corruption, and a producer of new corruptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/war-is-both-the-product-of-an-earlier-corruption-and-a-producer-of/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [The accumulation of numbers always augments in some measure moral corruptions, and the consequences to health of the various vices incident thereto, are well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-falconer/the-accumulation-of-numbers-always-augments-in-some-measure-moral/) [William Falconer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-falconer/) > [I often ask myself, 'Why is it that most of the lies come out of Islamic countries, and why is it that most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bahman-ghobadi/i-often-ask-myself-why-is-it-that-most-of-the-lies-come-out-of/) [Bahman Ghobadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bahman-ghobadi/) > [If we put corrupt men in public office and sneeringly acquiesce in their corruptions, then we are wrong ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/if-we-put-corrupt-men-in-public-office-and-sneeringly-acquiesce-in/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Politics, as the word is commonly understood, are nothing but corruptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/politics-as-the-word-is-commonly-understood-are-nothing-but/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [My God, the corruptions of literature. 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