--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Power is supposed to be so corrupt. I…" description: "\"Power is supposed to be so corrupt. I don't think it's so much corrupt, in the usual sense of the word, as stupid and unrealistic. The more power a per..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/jane-jacobs-1991_corrupt_power-is-supposed-to-be-so-corrupt-i-don_787385.png" --- # Power is supposed to be so corrupt. I don't think it's so… ![“Power is supposed to be so corrupt. I don't think it's so much corrupt, in the usual sense of the word, as stupid and unrealistic. The more power a person has, the further he gets from reality.” quote by Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/jane-jacobs-1991_corrupt_power-is-supposed-to-be-so-corrupt-i-don_787385.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/jane-jacobs-1991_corrupt_power-is-supposed-to-be-so-corrupt-i-don_787385.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/jane-jacobs-1991_corrupt_power-is-supposed-to-be-so-corrupt-i-don_787385.png) > “Power is supposed to be so corrupt. I don't think it's so much corrupt, in the usual sense of the word, as stupid and unrealistic. The more power a person has, the further he gets from reality.” [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power often distances people from reality, making them unrealistic and foolish. **In simple terms:** Power can blind people from reality. Key Takeaway Stay grounded despite authority. Themes power reality leadership hubris Mood cautious critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political leadership - corporate management - public policy - personal ambition Key Concepts political psychology social critique Questions to Reflect On - How does power affect your perception? - Can you stay realistic with influence? A Different Perspective Power can also enable positive change when used responsibly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corrupt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrupt/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Supposed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-supposed-919733/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid/) [Supposed Corrupt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposed-corrupt-6055052/) [Supposed to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposed-to-be/) [Think Corrupt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-corrupt-2150671/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Unrealistic Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unrealistic-power-6055051/) [Usual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usual/) ## Related quotes > [I don't hold anything against Barack Obama. I just think the system is so corrupt, it doesn't matter how well-intentioned someone is, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/i-don-t-hold-anything-against-barack-obama-i-just-think-the-system-is/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [The impression of Pakistan is that people are corrupt. I don't think they are as corrupt as they are made out to be. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mian-muhammad-mansha/the-impression-of-pakistan-is-that-people-are-corrupt-i-don-t-think/) [Mian Muhammad Mansha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mian-muhammad-mansha/) > [“A cold chill shot down my spine. How the hell did this freaking ass-hat have any position of authority? Power was supposed to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameo-renae/a-cold-chill-shot-down-my-spine-how-the-hell-did-this-freaking-ass/) [Cameo Renae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameo-renae/) > [This power that I'm supposed to have over women was never noticed when I was a stage actor on Broadway. I don't know when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-gable/this-power-that-i-m-supposed-to-have-over-women-was-never-noticed/) [Clark Gable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-gable/) > [It's like there's this knowledge hanging in the air that one person has more power than the other, and we're supposed to pretend everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-benincasa/it-s-like-there-s-this-knowledge-hanging-in-the-air-that-one-person/) [Sara Benincasa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-benincasa/) > [I don't think that you can dispose of the constructive and inventive things that America is doing - and say, "Oh we aren't doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/i-don-t-think-that-you-can-dispose-of-the-constructive-and-inventive/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [I have so many positive points. I am not corrupt, I am competent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamilisai-soundararajan/i-have-so-many-positive-points-i-am-not-corrupt-i-am-competent/) [Tamilisai Soundararajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamilisai-soundararajan/) > [The Islamist camp is infused with a righteous indignation, as the forces of old, corrupt and rotten Egypt unite to try and drive them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/the-islamist-camp-is-infused-with-a-righteous-indignation-as-the/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [Corruption hates what is not corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-park/corruption-hates-what-is-not-corrupt/) [Paul Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-park/) > [The problem is that when you grow absolutely certain that all authorities are corrupt, then that would include the Palestinian authorities as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-suleiman/the-problem-is-that-when-you-grow-absolutely-certain-that-all/) [Elia Suleiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-suleiman/) > [What astonishes many of us is not so much that human nature is fundamentally corrupt; we are astonished rather that it does not behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-irving-seiden/what-astonishes-many-of-us-is-not-so-much-that-human-nature-is/) [Morton Irving Seiden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-irving-seiden/) > [Chicago's been under the grip of the corrupt and broken political machine for as long as everybody's memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/chicago-s-been-under-the-grip-of-the-corrupt-and-broken-political/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [Chicago is unique. It is the only completely corrupt city in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-merriam/chicago-is-unique-it-is-the-only-completely-corrupt-city-in-america/) [Charles Edward Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-merriam/) > [The Democrats and the Republicans are equally corrupt where money is concerned. It's only in the amount where the Republicans excel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-democrats-and-the-republicans-are-equally-corrupt-where-money-is/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [“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 Jane Jacobs > [People who try to predict the future by extrapolating in a line of more of what exists - they are always wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/people-who-try-to-predict-the-future-by-extrapolating-in-a-line-of/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [My mother used to say when we were children, 'When a boy gets a stick in his hand, his brains run out the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/my-mother-used-to-say-when-we-were-children-when-a-boy-gets-a-stick/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Design is people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/design-is-people/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [To approach a city, or even a city neighborhood, as if it were a larger architectural problem, capable of being given order by converting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/to-approach-a-city-or-even-a-city-neighborhood-as-if-it-were-a-larger/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them… for really new ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/cities-need-old-buildings-so-badly-it-is-probably-impossible-for/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [The notion that you could discard the old world and now make a new one. This is what was so bad about Modernism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/the-notion-that-you-could-discard-the-old-world-and-now-make-a-new/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Cities are an immense laboratory of trial and error, failure and success, in city building and city design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/cities-are-an-immense-laboratory-of-trial-and-error-failure-and/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“Development isn't a collection of things but rather a process that yields things. Not knowing this, governments, their development and aid agencies, the World…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/development-isn-t-a-collection-of-things-but-rather-a-process-that/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“Most sentimental ideas imply, at bottom, a deep if unacknowledged disrespect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/most-sentimental-ideas-imply-at-bottom-a-deep-if-unacknowledged/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Beneficent spirals, operating by benign feedback, mean that everything needful is not required at once: each individual improvement is beneficial for the whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/beneficent-spirals-operating-by-benign-feedback-mean-that-everything/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Automobiles are often conveniently tagged as the villains responsible for the ills of cities and the disappointments and futilities of city planning. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/automobiles-are-often-conveniently-tagged-as-the-villains-responsible/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“I tis hopeless to try to convert some borders into seams. Expressways and their ramps are examples. Moreover, even in the case of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/i-tis-hopeless-to-try-to-convert-some-borders-into-seams-expressways/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“Probably the most important element in intricacy is centering. Good small parks typically have a place somewhere within them commonly understood to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/probably-the-most-important-element-in-intricacy-is-centering-good/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Throughout the world Dark Ages have scrawled finis to successions of cultures receding far into the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/throughout-the-world-dark-ages-have-scrawled-finis-to-successions-of/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“Privacy is precious in cities. It is indispensable. Perhaps it is precious and indispensable everywhere, but in most places you cannot get it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/privacy-is-precious-in-cities-it-is-indispensable-perhaps-it-is/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) [Explore all 193 Jane Jacobs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) ## More Corrupt 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/) > [The Democrats and the Republicans are equally corrupt where money is concerned. It's only in the amount where the Republicans excel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-democrats-and-the-republicans-are-equally-corrupt-where-money-is/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Chicago is unique. It is the only completely corrupt city in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-merriam/chicago-is-unique-it-is-the-only-completely-corrupt-city-in-america/) [Charles Edward Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-merriam/) > [Chicago's been under the grip of the corrupt and broken political machine for as long as everybody's memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/chicago-s-been-under-the-grip-of-the-corrupt-and-broken-political/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [What astonishes many of us is not so much that human nature is fundamentally corrupt; we are astonished rather that it does not behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-irving-seiden/what-astonishes-many-of-us-is-not-so-much-that-human-nature-is/) [Morton Irving Seiden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-irving-seiden/) > [The problem is that when you grow absolutely certain that all authorities are corrupt, then that would include the Palestinian authorities as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-suleiman/the-problem-is-that-when-you-grow-absolutely-certain-that-all/) [Elia Suleiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-suleiman/) > [Corruption hates what is not corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-park/corruption-hates-what-is-not-corrupt/) [Paul Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-park/) > [The Islamist camp is infused with a righteous indignation, as the forces of old, corrupt and rotten Egypt unite to try and drive them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/the-islamist-camp-is-infused-with-a-righteous-indignation-as-the/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [I have so many positive points. I am not corrupt, I am competent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamilisai-soundararajan/i-have-so-many-positive-points-i-am-not-corrupt-i-am-competent/) [Tamilisai Soundararajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamilisai-soundararajan/) > [“It’s so easy to lose faith and become lost in all of the politics of the world. That’s why we need the arts. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/it-s-so-easy-to-lose-faith-and-become-lost-in-all-of-the-politics-of/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“Interacting with a corrupt government judge is futile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/interacting-with-a-corrupt-government-judge-is-futile/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-ugly-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-corrupt-without/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [If the Russians masterminded fraud for 40 years at the highest state level in sports, operating behind the scenes to corrupt sports, what else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fogel/if-the-russians-masterminded-fraud-for-40-years-at-the-highest-state/) [Bryan Fogel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fogel/) > [Burn a Bush cause for peace he no push no button. Killing over oil and grease, no weapons of destruction, How can we follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/common/burn-a-bush-cause-for-peace-he-no-push-no-button-killing-over-oil-and/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/common/) > [ I think everybody is covering their \[posteriors\] with the Enron scandal and it was very convenient that Sept. 11 came along to deflect the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bernhard/i-think-everybody-is-covering-their-posteriors-with-the-enron-scandal/) [Sandra Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bernhard/) [Browse all 602 Corrupt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrupt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Power is supposed to be so corrupt. I don't think it's so much corrupt, in the usual sense of the word, as stupid and unrealistic. The more power a person has, the further he gets from reality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Jacobs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/power-is-supposed-to-be-so-corrupt-i-don-t-think-it-s-so-much-corrupt/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Corrupt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/power-is-supposed-to-be-so-corrupt-i-don-t-think-it-s-so-much-corrupt/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/jane-jacobs-1991_corrupt_power-is-supposed-to-be-so-corrupt-i-don_787385.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/jane-jacobs-1991_corrupt_power-is-supposed-to-be-so-corrupt-i-don_787385.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/jane-jacobs-1991_corrupt_power-is-supposed-to-be-so-corrupt-i-don_787385.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Power is supposed to be so corrupt. I don't think it's so much corrupt, in the usual sense of the word, as…” — Jane Jacobs", "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": "Jane Jacobs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Power is supposed to be so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/power-is-supposed-to-be-so-corrupt-i-don-t-think-it-s-so-much-corrupt/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/power-is-supposed-to-be-so-corrupt-i-don-t-think-it-s-so-much-corrupt/#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 } } ] } ```