Turn It Again: Torah Wisdom for Today
In Pirkei Avot, a book of maxims in the Mishnah, an ancient rabbi, Ben Bag-Bag said about Torah study, “Hafokh bah, va’Hafokh vah, d’khola bah.” Turn it over and over, for everything is in it. For two thousand years, that’s what Jews have done. Here is another turning.
Parshat Balak 2024
Does Power Corrupt? Why Religion Matters
Recently I spied a teeshirt with the following message: “Abuse of Power Comes as No Surprise.” Surprisingly, I found in this aphorism an invitation to return to first principles. Is it actually true that people in positions of power act more unethically than those with less power? Or perhaps this is a case where the impact of powerful people’s immorality is more pronounced, so that in turn it becomes more visible?
In general, there is value to interrogate idiomatic truths and stereotypes periodically. Some popular statements are repeated so often that they become almost hypnotic; our minds glaze over while we accept that which is familiar at face value. Since idioms and stereotypes wield significant soft power, influencing our behavior and beliefs, it is worthwhile to question them. Before examining some research that explores whether those in position of power have a greater tendency to act unethically, let’s turn to a far older literary exploration of this topic, namely the Bible.
Parashat Balak, which features the prophet Bilam and his famous talking donkey, portrays two incidents of moral corruption. Bilam himself seems ambivalent about whether he should abuse his prophetic power for personal gain. Later in the reading, the Israelites engage in acts of idolatry and sexual immorality (based on the standards of the time; we don’t need to delve into how those standards change over time). Interestingly, the second case highlights that even those without power are not immune to moral wrongdoing, which was never in question. Our concern is the frequency of wrongdoing.
Despite that focus on frequency, a careful analysis of Bilam’s action helps to describe the mechanism of how someone in power can justify the abuse of power. Dignitaries of King Balak approach Bilam, stating on their king’s behalf, “I will richly honor you and will do anything you ask of me. Just come and curse this people for me.” Bilam responds, “Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, big or little, contrary to the command of my God.” At first glance, it seems that Bilam’s moral instincts are intact, yet that night he has a dream in which God gives him permission to go to King Balak. Since Bilam is a prophet, perhaps his dreams really do represent a higher moral authority? Yet a few verses later, an angel with a drawn sword stops both Bilam and his donkey. While the angel allows Bilam to continue on his journey to King Balak to curse the Jews, this threatening scene alerts the reader that Bilam has placed himself in an ethically fraught position. According to an 18th-century Moroccan Torah commentary, Or HaChayim, this is the moment when Bilam repents and returns to his moral bearings. He was enticed to abuse his power, but overcomes the temptation.
Three relatively recent studies[1] indicate that higher-power individuals indeed are more likely to engage in self-serving behavior that violate social norms while displaying reduced empathy for others. In one of these, it appears that power can lead to ethical dissonance, where individuals in power justify their unethical behavior through moral disengagement. They often feel justified in their actions due to their perceived entitlement and the benefits they believe they bring. This seems to describe Bilam’s initial willingness to go to King Balak, as well as the content of his dream.
Thankfully, as we see with Bilam, power does not automatically corrupt the person holding it. Our upbringing, personality traits, ethical grounding, and institutional checks and balances all mitigate against the role power plays. Additionally, there are ways that power can free individuals from conforming to unjust social norms while providing them the capacity to seek new solutions that can demonstrate a higher ethical standard.[2]
Finally, it is worth adding that the tools of power can change, sometimes becoming democratized in the process. Social media is a disturbing example of how less hierarchy coupled with greater distribution of power has corrupted millions of people, who behave terribly online precisely because they lack all accountability.
In an age where many people worry about increasing levels of corruption, antisocial behavior, and dirty politics, is there any good news? Thankfully, other research indicates that individuals raised in a religious-ethical background tend to show higher levels of prosocial behavior, honesty, and ethical decision-making. This may run counter to secular society’s focus on bad religious actors (of which there are many), but it serves as a vital reminder that the communal and educational work of our kehillah matters deeply. Judaism isn’t just a cultural legacy we preserve; it teaches us how to live better. It’s up to us to apply those lessons whenever temptation arises.
[1] https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1118373109#sec-2; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/44612674_Power_Increases_Hypocrisy; https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-00307-004
[2] https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/527495; Psychological Science, “Power Reduces the Press of the Situation”
