“You let men in power assume power "for the Little Man". But you yourself remain silent. You give men in power or impotent people with evil intentions the power to represent you. Only too late do you realize that again and again you are being defrauded.”
Listen, Little Man! (1948)
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Wilhelm Reich 89
Austrian-American psychoanalyst 1897–1957Related quotes

“Evil people naturally assume that you will use that power exactly as they would use it.”
Source: The Tales of Alvin Maker, Heartfire (1998), Chapter 3.

On achieving the position of leader of Scientology — .
“The only power fear has is the power you give it.”
Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 41

Stephen Colbert - It Gets Better (13 July 2011) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BThRZbCs-p8
Context: If you don't give power to the words that people throw at you to hurt you, they don't hurt you anymore — and you actually have power over those people. … So, if you can, realize that the things that people say about you — they don't really matter — it's who you are. And the older you get, the more you'll understand that — because it gets better. And people get nicer too.

"Elements of Success", as published in President Garfield and education: Hiram college memorial https://archive.org/details/presidentgarfiel00hinsuoft (1882), compiled by B. A. Hinsdale, p. 327

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”
Widely attributed to Lincoln, this appears to be derived from Thomas Carlyle's general comment below, but there are similar quotes about Lincoln in his biographies.
Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man; but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.
Thomas Carlyle (1841) On Heroes and Hero Worship.
Any man can stand adversity — only a great man can stand prosperity.
Horatio Alger (1883), Abraham Lincoln: The Backwoods Boy; or, How a Young Rail-Splitter became President
Most people can bear adversity; but if you wish to know what a man really is give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never used it except on the side of mercy.
Robert G. Ingersoll (1883), Unity: Freedom, Fellowship and Character in Religion, Volume 11, Number 3, The Exchange Table, True Greatness Exemplified in Abraham Lincoln, by Robert G. Ingersoll (excerpt), Quote Page 55, Column 1 and 2, Chicago, Illinois. ( Google Books Full View https://books.google.com/books?id=JUIrAAAAYAAJ&q=%22man+really%22#v=snippet&)
If you want to discover just what there is in a man — give him power.
Francis Trevelyan Miller (1910), Portrait Life of Lincoln: Life of Abraham Lincoln, the Greatest American
Any man can handle adversity. If you truly want to test a man's character, give him power.
Attributed in the electronic game Infamous
Misattributed

Global Health TV Interview at Women Deliver Conference (16 June 2010) http://www.globalhealthtv.com/news/v/jennifer_beals_attends_women_deliver_as_guest_of_united_nations_fund/to/latest_news/.