Tax Research UK

Powerful people more guilty of ‘moral hypocrisy’, study finds - Telegraph.

Experts say that these so-called “powerful people” also make stricter moral judgements of others - while doing exactly as they please.

Professor Adam Galinsky, from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Illinois, said:

“According to our research, power and influence can cause a severe disconnect between public judgment and private behaviour, and as a result, the powerful are stricter in their judgment of others while being more lenient toward their own actions.

“The past year has been marked by a series of moral transgressions by powerful figures in political, business and celebrity circles.

“And this research is especially relevant to the biggest scandals of 2009, as we look back on how private behaviour often contradicted the public stance of particular individuals in power.

“For instance, we saw some politicians use public funds for private benefits while calling for smaller government, or have extramarital affairs while advocating family values.

“Similarly, we witnessed CEOs of major financial institutions accepting executive bonuses while simultaneously asking for government bail-out money on behalf of their companies.”

I guess we knew all that really.

But we need to have it said time and again.

Precisely because we need to remind those in power that we know it.

Richard Murphy Ethics