Power

'It is an observation that any person who holds power does not refrain from abusing it,' said Montesquieu in his famous book 'The Spirit of the Laws'. The philosopher Alain says: 'Every power without control brings madness.' Examples of abuse on the part of persons holding an authority or a power over other persons are not rare: scandals of finance, of justice, sexual, psychological or physical abuse, abuse in politics, in the press or similar channels, abuse in the police, including in religion. The question is to know whether the person who holds power abuses because this behaviour is based on narcissism (the state of a person who loves himself or his intelligence), on psychopathy (the state of a person who can commit a crime) or on megalomania (the state of a person who displays grandeur).

Studies show us that any person who holds power can have a tendency that favours adopting a negative behaviour. Many times we observe that the behaviour of a person driving a very expensive car is worse than the behaviour of a person driving a modest car in terms of observing the rules of traffic. Another study was practised among students who write the rules they want for the university. One of these students is set apart to supervise. The students are to be rewarded at the end with some very tasty biscuits. The biscuits are limited. There is only one biscuit more than the participants. It was seen that it was the supervisor who ate the two biscuits. They filmed this act discreetly and noted that the supervisor ate the biscuits with less manners than the others. They repeated this study with different students and saw that the behaviour of the supervisors was almost the same.

In the history of Political Science we have many examples of rulers who changed their personalities on holding power. One must agree with Montesquieu, who said: 'To avoid bad ends, it is better to think of having a divided and shared power.' Or: 'Allow an opposition that will criticize you and show you the defects.' This means the Separation of Powers: Legislation (making laws), Execution (applying the laws), and Justice. Let us not forget that many call Power a sickness, as we saw in those responsible for the Shoah. Source: National Library