A paraphrased and misquoted aphorism commonly bandied about in recent days goes along the lines of “absolute power absolutely corrupts.” It’s a powerful trope, and the phrase warrants original credit and context.

John Dahlberg-Acton, 1 st Baron Acton, a Catholic, wrote a letter to Anglican Bishop of London Mandell Creighton in 1870, challenging Papal infallibility and the divine right of kings. “ Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” He adds, “There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.” That’s an important counterpunch.

If we hold these statements to American politics in the current era, it is hard not to flinch. From our elections, carefully managed at every step from redistricting forward to favor incumbents, to current leg

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