I have been reading one piece lately and there are a lot of story arcs in one piece where the straw-hat crew goes and overthrows tryannical regimes which are then replaced with the former benevolent monarchies of those countries, and the people of the countries then live happily ever after.
This felt very unrealistic to me. Realistically, the tyrannical regime would simply be replaced by another tyrannical regime. So, I came here looking for books which show the slow moral decay and descent which inevitably happens when people are put into positions of power, as the title says, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Basically, I want something like animal farm but from the perspective of former good-hearted-revolutionaries-become-tyrants instead of the subjects like animal farm was.
Also, bonus points if it talks about the challenges of actually running a country when the revolutionaries seize power and then realize that you can't just magically solve a country's problems by simply putting "good people" in power.
by Nite-ish
1 Comment
I’m definitely interested in seeing what others suggest. Two books that come to mind right away are Animal Farm by George Orwell and Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.
Animal Farm by George Orwell starts with a hopeful revolution for equality, but as the pigs take control, power slowly corrupts everything. By the end, the new leaders are no better than the ones they replaced.
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson is totally different—more fast-paced and satirical—but explores similar themes. It’s set in a world where the government has basically collapsed and corporations and warlords are in charge, showing how unchecked power can twist any system.