Animal Farm Theme of Power: Leadership and Corruption

That power corrupts is an inevitable conclusion of Animal Farm. When the pigs take over they claim that their goal is to preside over a farm of equal animals, all working together to support one another. Yet power quickly proves to be too much for a pig. Small privileges quickly bloom into full-scale corruption, and the pigs begin more and more to resemble those whom they claim to replace.

1. Are the pigs self-serving from the start, or are they corrupted by their power? By the way, the world has never been able to agree on this.
2. What qualities allow the pigs to gain power in the first place, and what qualities enable them to keep their power? Are these different?
3. How do you define power, anyway? What does it mean to have power on Animal Farm? Is it possible for leaders to have this kind of power without abusing it?

Although their corruption worsens as the story progresses, the pigs are greedy from the start.

The transition in control from Snowball to Napoleon is the turning point for Animal Farm, representing the corruption of the race of pigs from sound leadership to corrupt dictatorship.