Claim: In any field — business, politics, education, government — those in power should step down after five years.Reason: The surest path to success for any enterprise is revitalization through new leadership.Write a response in which you discuss the

People in positions of power have usually been revered throughout history--rulers, politicians, and even CEOs. Often, however, those in power are worn down by the struggles of bureaucracy and disorganization and become more cynical in their views and ideas. Hence, some people would argue that those in power should step down after five years because revitalization through new leadership is necessary for sustained success. I largely agree with this claim because not only can power cloud a person's judgement, but left unchecked, it can also foster greed and corruption. While it is plausible that some long-term goals require long-term leaders, ultimately, long-term leaders cause more harm than good. Thus, the best path to success is through short-term leaderships.
Firstly, cynicism is a byproduct of long-term power. While cynical views can sometimes be justified, they are not ideal for those in power. People in power should imagine the unimaginable and push their institutions towards a better place. The negative impacts of cynical leaders can be seen within the modern-day American political system. There is a lot of conflict between older Establishment Democrats and the newer, more-progressive Democrats about where the party is headed. While Establishment Democrats adamantly claim that proposals such as "Healthcare for All" and "The Green New Deal" are impossible, the more progressive Democrats, branded as ideologues, believe that they are in fact entirely possible. Perhaps if Establishment Democrats were able to consolidate their power forever, political arenas such as the environment and healthcare would not see much change. Thus, revitalization through new leadership is necessary to the success of any enterprise. Not only does new leadership provide fresh views and bold ideas, but it also challenges and checks those who are already in power.
Although short term-limits on positions of power encourage growth and sustained success of an enterprise, they also serve another equally important role. Short term-limits on power are vital in combatting greed and corruption. In countries such as Russia and Turkey where term-limits on the countries' rulers are either lax or nonexistent, corruption and greed has become rampant. The president of Russia, Putin, has used his power to enrich himself and his powerful friends by looting the people of Russia. The ruler of Turkey, Erdogan, has used his power to rig ostensibly Democratic elections to keep himself in power. In contrast, countries where presidential term-limits are more strictly adhered too such as Canada and the United States experience relatively less corruption. If short term-limits on political positions of power have proven to be successful, they should also be effective in combatting cynicism and corruption in any position of power.
However, the argument can be made that grand visions and long-term goals require long-term leaders to guide their way to fruition. For example, the president of China has been able to use his long-term power to implement largescale projects for his country’s benefit such as the Belt and Road initiative. Since there are no short term-limits in China, President Xinping can guarantee that he will see through it, the full implementation of the long and costly project. On the other hand, the former American president, President Obama could not guarantee the success of Obamacare because he could only hold office for no longer than eight years. As a result, his presidential successor has waged a war on Obamacare which is now in a very precarious situation. Even though these kinds of hurdles can come up because of short term-limits on power, they are a necessary evil because the alternative is authoritarian and totalitarian regimes and institutions such as China: Chinese citizens' human rights are constantly being violated by the ruling party because of their unabated power.
Power and positions of power are complex topics. Even though people have held positions of power for centuries, it is difficult to identify which exact components make a recipe for success. Nevertheless, one thing is for certain, long-term, unchecked power has often led a leader straight to failure: be it through cynicism, greed, or corruption. Hence, short term-limits on positions of power are vital to an institution's success. While it is difficult to quantify the definite amount of years a term-limit should be, it is certain that there must an enforceable term-limit at the very least. With the wealth gap and inequality on the rise globally, it is important, now more than ever, to be cognizant of issues such as the abuse of power and deal with it swiftly before it causes further harm down the road.