NationStates Jolt Archive

Please help me. I have to do a civics isu
please tell me if you think power is good or bad and your reason why
if your confused please read the below paragraph
Power is defined as the ability to achieve adn to get other people to do what you want
thanks in advance

Text book definition (civics today): Have you noticed in your life, in your classrom, and in society in general that some people have more power than other? Why is this? Power is defined as the ability to achieve what you want. Within a group, power can be defined as the ability to get others to do what you want. What gives a person power? Intelligence, persuasiveness, charisma, money, physical strength, attractiveness, and social status are just some of things that might make one person more powerful than another.
Powert is a anatural part of being human. WE use it everyday. WE can use power to achieve personal adn shared goals. All too often, however, power is denied or used agianst certian groups becasue of discrimination and inequalities. Power can be very destruitve in the wrong hands. Power can also be creative if it is used to promote equality and improve lives.

Power is amoral. As in it is neither good, nor bad.

It can be USED for good, or bad purposes. It is a tool. It exists, you can't eliminate it.

Power is amoral. As in it is neither good, nor bad.

It can be USED for good, or bad purposes. It is a tool. It exists, you can't eliminate it.

Just like Guns... or chainsaws, or ammonium nitrate (a fertilizer or explosive), or, or, or...

A tool is a tool. Only People can be good or bad. A tool does not make them so.

Just like Guns... or chainsaws, or ammonium nitrate (a fertilizer or explosive), or, or, or...

A tool is a tool. Only People can be good or bad. A tool does not make them so.
Exactamente! You get a cookie!

However, power itself can bring out the bad in people, because there is nothing holding themselves back. It takes a special kind of person to be able to resist the temptation that power is. Power may not be evil, but it brings up the oppertuntity for evil do be done. This is especially apparent in cases of absolute power. There is no reason for any ruler in an absolute power situation to bend to any rule, so why would they?

The same is true of any human being in this situation. Ex. take a four-year old, there is an entire box of chocolate cookies just in arms reach. There are no parents around. What does the child do? Eat the cookies. Even if they have been told beforehand not to eat the cookies they will do so anyway.

The same is true for power. Power is merely the means of getting what you need/want done in the way you want it.

"Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely"
-Lord Acton

"Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely"
-Lord Acton

"Power corrupts, and absolute power is actually pretty neat." -- one of Nixon's aides

The real question is, do you use your power for good, or for awesome?

"Power corrupts, and absolute power is actually pretty neat." -- one of Nixon's aides

The real question is, do you use your power for good, or for awesome?
awesome...awesome destruction! If I come to power, you can say goodbye to civilization!

power=current*voltage

Hence, the amount of people blindly following the flow multiplied by the amount of volts you put through people resisting you allows you to measure power. This is a scalar, not a vector, quantity, so it is neither good nor evil, which would be definined as part of a vector.

We also know that P=(I^2)*R, so it is also equal to the square of the number of followers times the number of resistors to the influence.

P=(V^2)/R, so it is also equal to the sqaure of the voltage put through dissentors divided by the number of dissentors.

P=EE/[delta]t, so the amount of energy used to maintain your power divided by the length of time you use this energy determines the power you hold.

I hope that clears up the nature of power - it is based on your following and how you treat dissentors, or can be calculated based on one's energy output over a period of time, but as a scalar property is neither good nor evil :D

power=current*voltage

Hence, the amount of people blindly following the flow multiplied by the amount of volts you put through people resisting you allows you to measure power. This is a scalar, not a vector, quantity, so it is neither good nor evil, which would be definined as part of a vector.

We also know that P=(I^2)*R, so it is also equal to the square of the number of followers times the number of resistors to the influence.

P=(V^2)/R, so it is also equal to the sqaure of the voltage put through dissentors divided by the number of dissentors.

P=EE/[delta]t, so the amount of energy used to maintain your power divided by the length of time you use this energy determines the power you hold.

I hope that clears up the nature of power - it is based on your following and how you treat dissentors, or can be calculated based on one's energy output over a period of time, but as a scalar property is neither good nor evil :D

Hey, that's pretty clever. Did you make it yourself? :) I might have to steal it from you...

Hey, that's pretty clever. Did you make it yourself? :) I might have to steal it from you...
The formulas are all open source, the rest was me :D

I might have to save that to my HD, my physics teacher would get a laugh out of it.

As Sinuhue said, it's completely neutral. I certainly wouldn't mind having power, :D altough you could hardly say I'm power-hungry. Not sure what I would do with it however, if I ever got it. I think I would begin with laughing insanely (as evilly as I can) while demonstrating my power, probably making people quite nervous. After that, I have no idea,

Power doesn't corrupt.

Power brings out who people really are.

Power doesn't corrupt.

Power brings out who people really are.

I disagree. Power may bring out hidden traits in people, but can you say for certain that is their "reality"?

Some people are wonderful people, but should never be given power, because the would misuse it, or refuse to use it when it is needed. Does that make them bad people? Of course not. Just people who are better without power.

Power, in all its varying forms and degrees should ideally be given to people, in all THEIR varying forms according to their degrees of responsibility with power. However, arguing that when someone attains power, whatever that person does is their "real" self makes no more sense than the opposite statement.

Think about it: "If one has power, they have no responsibility to anyone but themselves, and thus the indulge in whatever they want. That shows their true desires." Is basically your argument.

But what if I said: "If one relinquishes power, they no longer must serve the expectations of those beneath them, and no longer must bear the strain of responsibility, thus they are free to be themselves. What they do when they give up power must be their true desire." Is another possible way of looking at power.

There is an old saying from China, "Great men, when given petty tasks, are prone to ignoring their duties and indulging themselves in base desires. However, given a post worthy of them, they will toil ceaselessly to fufill their potential." -Zhuge Liang

This brings us back to the middle, I think. Power is neutral. People can be warped and twisted by power, or they can flourish and display their knowledge, spirit and devotion with it. It all depends on the person.

Please help me. I have to do a civics isu
please tell me if you think power is good or bad and your reason why
if your confused please read the below paragraph
Power is defined as the ability to achieve adn to get other people to do what you want
thanks in advance

Text book definition (civics today): Have you noticed in your life, in your classrom, and in society in general that some people have more power than other? Why is this? Power is defined as the ability to achieve what you want. Within a group, power can be defined as the ability to get others to do what you want. What gives a person power? Intelligence, persuasiveness, charisma, money, physical strength, attractiveness, and social status are just some of things that might make one person more powerful than another.
Powert is a anatural part of being human. WE use it everyday. WE can use power to achieve personal adn shared goals. All too often, however, power is denied or used agianst certian groups becasue of discrimination and inequalities. Power can be very destruitve in the wrong hands. Power can also be creative if it is used to promote equality and improve lives.



No one should ever have to much power, but power is amoral. It is a tool, used for good or evil purposes. It is perhaps inherently evil to hold too much power, but power is ultamitly nutural.

Please help me. I have to do a civics isu
please tell me if you think power is good or bad and your reason why
if your confused please read the below paragraph
Power is defined as the ability to achieve adn to get other people to do what you want
thanks in advance

Text book definition (civics today): Have you noticed in your life, in your classrom, and in society in general that some people have more power than other? Why is this? Power is defined as the ability to achieve what you want. Within a group, power can be defined as the ability to get others to do what you want. What gives a person power? Intelligence, persuasiveness, charisma, money, physical strength, attractiveness, and social status are just some of things that might make one person more powerful than another.
Powert is a anatural part of being human. WE use it everyday. WE can use power to achieve personal adn shared goals. All too often, however, power is denied or used agianst certian groups becasue of discrimination and inequalities. Power can be very destruitve in the wrong hands. Power can also be creative if it is used to promote equality and improve lives.

The desire for power is a natural drive built into all animals, though some have more than others. As others have already stated, power in itself is neither good or bad - it simply is.