Power Is An End
Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. —Orwell, 1984
Regular readers of this blog will know that I find us frighteningly close to Orwell’s vision of 1984. Orwell’s observation here is not that people use power to accomplish something, but they use power to ensure they have more and continuing power.