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This, from Robert Caro, is brilliant 1/ nytimes.com/interactive/20… 
I'd add another way in which the cliche about power and corruption can be misleading: lack of power, or at least of influence, can also corrupt. In fact, I see that corruption all the time in the intellectual world 2/
I see that kind of corruption all the time. One version involves pushing destructive points of view -- like the idea that there's no difference between the moderate left and the hard right -- in the secure knowledge that nobody will act on what you say 3/
Another involves harsh attacks, often personal, on people who are actually serving the goals you claim to want – because your personal incentives are to get people's attention and differentiate yourself, not move the world in a better direction 4/
Now, none of this comes close in destructiveness to the corruption of people with lots of real power. But weakness and obscurity can have moral costs too. And if you think I'm subtweeting you, you're probably right 5/
