“Lucifer Effect” by Philip Zimbardo: Abuse of Power

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Outline

The essay is an argumentative paper which discusses abuse of power and its demerits. The paper is based on the book Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo. The paper begins with an introduction which states a thesis statement. The body of the essay reveals the term ‘abuse of power’ and its political and social drawbacks. Political and social problems in Afghanistan, Tibet, Iraq, and Pakistan are discussed. The dark side of the Iraq invasion is also revealed in this essay. The essay ends with a conclusion which restates the important points and supports the thesis statement.

Argumentative essay: Abuse of power

One of the serious issues that call for the attention of the general public is the abuse of power. It has been inferred as the complete dominance of power over the weaker section by those who possess power. Abuse of power is the condition in which the person who has complete power exerts his/her supremacy over others who lack it. If there is continuous power to the authority in a country, it may lead to abuse of power. Misuse of power causes dishonesty and it becomes a threat to the society. When one who has power rejects to accept the responsibilities it is the start of an ethical immorality. Only the one who has the power will do evil and it is the basic instinct. One should discuss the question as to how a good citizen becomes a mere coward when he is in power. When one attempts to realize a person it is very difficult to understand his strange behavior very easily as the external and internal behavior of a person will be extremely different. The abuse of power becomes more dangerous when the person who has power looks his own well being without caring for his/her fellow beings. People look for only power and at the same time they lack virtue and without virtue one cannot be a good person. The person who is in power seems always blind because he is not aware of his own deeds and he does not think what will be the consequences of his misbehavior. Power is necessary for the welfare of the state but when it is misused by the authority it is abuse of power. Abuse of power is one which is there all over the world. Men in power ill-treat others around him like a puppet in his hand. But on the other side, power can make or change the world into a better one. The people who are in power are of the stern belief that they should be honored by every one. One can view a good example in the case of Adolph Hitler who misused the power because of his self-esteem. Hitler was elected as the ruler of Germany because of his honorable conduct but when he came in power he became a mere tyrant. He was a Nazi and he changed the world itself with his power. He put the prisoners in the concentration camp and treated them so brutally and millions of people were executed as per his order. All these indicate how a person with power turns gradually into a tyrant. Regarding abuse of power, one can deduce that it causes political uncertainty and social anarchy by dividing people into two layers; a dominative authority and a group of struggling people.

The ‘Lucifer Effect’ discusses the basic question regarding the nature of human beings. When good people turn evil by doing cruel deeds, this conversion may be described as ‘Lucifer Effect’. “According to various scenarios of early Christian Church Fathers (from Cyprus, Armenia, Greece, and France), Lucifer was god’s favorite angel.” (Zimbardo). He once disobeyed God and had been thrown out from heaven to hell and he became a mere devil. It is same as the case of human being too. If the good people do some terrible actions, the after-effects will be same as Lucifer, as the society will treat them as evil. Human mind is a mixture of good and evil thoughts and by doing good activities people can overcome from their bad deeds. But when people get the power they simply forget the good quality. But the man in power does not know that it is cause of his own ruin. People are of the belief that it is the power that makes one a monster but on the contrary they are not aware of the truth that it is the people who make the power an abusive one.

On 28 April 2004 The American News agency showed some striking photographs in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The photos are heart touching as the naked Iraqi prisoners are treated in a brutal way. Zimbardo is one among the shocked persons in America after seeing these photos and being a young psychologist he performed an experiment of the psychology of imprisonment with the division of a group of apprentice students into guards and prisoners. The effect was unpredictable as the open-minded students soon changed into great sadists who torture the prisoners in a strange way. Thus he learned from the experiment that “most of us can undergo significant character transformations when we are caught up in the crucible of social forces.” (Marriott). This shows how the good people turn into evil minded. In the Book ‘Lucifer Effect’ the author explains how good people turn into evil. Zimbardo wrote this book mainly based on the 20^th century’s bad examples of the man’s inhumanity to man especially the butchery of 350,000 Chinese civilians by the Japanese at Nanking in 1937. Zimbardo is of the view that the cause of the seeds of the evil flowers in the Abu Ghraib prison is mainly by the Bush Administration who tries to win the war with terror. The book explains about the powerful situational forces which lead man to act in a worse manner indifferent to their open minded character. The students are extremely good and all are open-minded in the beginning of the experiment as mentioned in the book. They shared everything together especially the sorrows and joys but the situation changes when they are placed in the role of guards and prisoners. The noble soul became the devil’s workshop as they start to treat the prisoners in a brutal way even though they know the truth that they are not criminals. The changes that occurred in the minds of the students is mainly from the situation they are forced to play as they are of the view that guards have the power to act as they like and thus they treat the prisoners in a brutal way. When they get the power they start to use it badly and it is the abuse of power. The behavior of the guards indicates how the situation forces them to act in a worse manner and also how the good becomes bad due to course of situation. All these indicate that both the good and evil lie in the very heart of human beings and it is the situation that makes them act good and evil. Thus the book ‘Lucifer Effect’, by Philip Zimbardo is a good example which expresses the abuse of power in detail.

Analyzing abuse of power, one can see the fact that it often leads to social anarchy and it is possible to identify many examples. Abuse of power creates severe political uncertainty and crisis. The soldiers at Abu Ghraib became the victims of their superior’s egotistical behavior and they were forced to work in severe conditions. 12 hours of work in a day affected the mental and physical wellbeing of soldiers. Medias reported that the thirst for political supremacy and power led Bush administration in a world of unending cruelty and they planted the seeds of the flowers of malevolence. In many circumstances soldiers did not get proper instructions and suggestions for their work. It is a common knowledge that power is a kind of political or national strength. Whenever the power is combined with exploitation, the problem begins. Manipulative actions of the people promote unfair, pessimistic, and biased outcomes in the society. Iraq’s Gulf attack (1990-91) ended in loss of more than 100,000 civilians (First Gulf War, 1990-1991). Missiles and other modern weapons destroyed civilian territories and towns. In the journal article entitled ’The Gulf War’, Mitchell Bard shows his willingness to support the evil of power. Here the author comments about the Gulf war and its political crisis. He states; ”The Iraqi leader also made the alarming disclosure that his commanders had the freedom to launch attacks against Israel without consulting the high command if Israel attacked Iraq.” (Bard).

The Abuse of power in policy formation, law making and other administrative reforms constitutes serious social and political problems. Self intentions of a particular group or community paved the way for the violation of policies by other people. In case of the Taliban, Tibetan issue, Military administration in Pakistan and several Latin American and Afro- Asian countries, majority in these nations were forced to obey the rules and regulations of their rulers. Analyzing the history of Taliban one should be able to understand the fact that extreme fundamentalism has implemented strict rules and regulations in favor of Muslim extremists. One can see that abusing of power reached its zenith when Taliban fundamentalists took the political control of the region. The women and children in Taliban were forced to live under the shadow of severe religious rules and restrictions practiced by the fundamentalists. The cruelest face of Taliban rule was explored through their judiciary. Fundamentalist’s justice is extremely brutal and atrocious. The journal article which was published by the name, The Taliban – Horrors To Women, Children And Men gives significant information about the uncivilized culture and the violation of human rights. It says; “There is little to no chance of appealing a case before a judge and jury.” (The Taliban- Horrors to Women, Children and Men).

The exponents of traditional Muslim religion show their willingness to practice a social system which permits them to view women and children as mere subjects. Poverty and ignorance give further imprisonment to the people. Restrictions in dress, education, amusements and religious worships drag the people into the world of unending afflictions. If analyzed, can see that abuse of power has engulfed the Fundamentalist government.

Zimbardo writes about the pathetic condition of American soldiers in his masterpiece work The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo. Life in underground prisons gives horrible and fearful experiences for soldiers. The worst thing is that the majority of military officers could not know the problems of ordinary militants. In other words, their superiors are never ready to accept the realities in the warfield. Through the book Zimbardo reveals how circumstances and political environment can raise cruelty and abuse of power. Trials and punishments sometimes reached the level of personal revenge and utter selfishness.

Desire for power never ends as it adds to one’s acceptability and reputation. To an extent it is an integral part of one’s social life. But abuse of power can never be justified and it will certainly lead to moral evil. Quite often, abuse of power is considered as the prime source of moral evil. It is proved that when someone refuses to accept his responsibilities, moral evils begin to exist especially to those who are exclusively under his or her direct care and control. It can be said that someone gets power when he or she has a considerable influence on the reality of others. So power should be in accordance with the social accord or conventions. One’s competence to inflict his or her will on others can be termed as abuse of power and no doubt it is unlawful. Mental dexterity, social position, physical strength, knowledge, technology, weapons, wealth, or the trust that others have in him or her can be the root cause of abuse of power. When one’s advantage or earnings depends on harming or exploiting others it can be considered as extremely unethical and it is suggested that the main principle of human ethics and morality should be to avoid the abuse of power. It should be treated seriously that the decision to adopt an ethical principle as one’s own is a solely personal one, and cannot be forced on someone. It is not possible that someone will take on a principle that is not harmonious with his or her mental configuration and this will be influenced by childhood experiences. Putting an assistant in place of conflict of interest demonstrates a complete ignorance of ethics. (Abuse of Power).

To conclude, one can infer that the abuse of power is quite common in the modern world and most of the politicians and bureaucrats use it as a weapon to get their things done. Going back to history, there had been different examples of the abuse of power that many monarchs used it well. Analyzing the abuse of power one can understand the reality that abuse of power causes dishonesty, though power is necessary for the welfare and integrity of the nation. Different examples of the abuse of power includes the dominance or supremacy possessed by Hitler and the concentration camps used for suppressing Jews, abuse of power by Saddam Hussain as the president of Iraq, brutal torture of the US Army in the Abu Ghraib jail and the fundamentalist role in Afghanistan. Finally one can see that abuse of power causes political uncertainty and social anarchy by dividing people into two layers; a dominative authority and a group of struggling people.

Works Cited

Abuse of Power. Sibling Rivalry. 2009.
Bard, Mitchell. The Gulf War. Jewish Virtual Library: A Division of the American- Israel Cooperative Enterprise. 2009. Web.
First Gulf War, 1990-1991. Australian War Memorial. 2009.
Marriott, Edward. Torture as Second Nature: The Lucifer Effect: Understanding how Good People Turn Evil. Guardian.co.uk. 2007. Web.
The Taliban- Horrors to Women, Children and Men. Information and Entertainment @ Information- Entertainment-com. 2009.
Zimbardo, Philip. Who was Lucifer and how did He Become the Devil. The Lucifer Effect. 2009.

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“Lucifer Effect” by Philip Zimbardo: Abuse of Power

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