The cliché is that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But that is an over-simplification. It is the ability to justify one's actions that is the central aspect of the corruption of power. President Obama has increased troop levels in Afghanistan and has attacked Libya, both of which have caused death. But President Obama can justify these actions by claiming that they are helping more people than they are hurting. He doesn't perceive himself as being an accomplice to murder. The same is true of the most devious dictator.
And therein lies power's corruption. It isn't that power corrupts; it's that human beings have the ability to justify their actions no matter how heinous.
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