The idea that power and wealth can corrupt a person and negatively impact their ability to make decisions is not a new discovery. This is an ancient piece of knowledge that has been passed down for generations in many different ways and different languages, the basic message being that “power corrupts.”
The two most significant forms of power in our modern world is political power and financial power, which is how things have been for most of history. Over the years, studies have shown that the wealthy and powerful are more dishonest than the average person, and more likely to lie, cheat and steal to get what they want.
Dacher Keltner, a psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley who has spent decades studying wealth and power, told the Washington Post last year that the effect that power has on a person seems to be a part of human nature.