Power and Corruption

The phrase by John Dalberg explains a trend that has been seen throughout most of human history. The phrase explains that power becomes progressively more corrosive to society as it grows stronger. For example, when the USSR became a world power, the government became more corrupt as the years passed, especially before and during World War 2. Early in the 30's The Soviet Union starved millions of ethnic Ukrainians because their government progressively cut more and more their food rations. This event is called Holodomor. Also there was the Secret Police, or NKVD, that kidnapped and killed people who were believed to work against the government. All this corruption is most likely a cause of fear of losing power. When a country has stricter laws, it is more difficult for the people to revolt against it. A quote from John Steinbeck explains this: “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.”