Baron de Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws (1748)
“Political liberty is to be found … only when there is no abuse of power. But constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go…To prevent this abuse, it is necessary from the very nature of things that power should be a check to power.”
Abigail Adams, Letter to John Adams, March 31, 1776
“I long to hear that you have declared an independency -- and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could.”
James Madison, Federalist No. 51, 1788
“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judicial in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self–appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny” .
RJ Rummel, China's Bloody Century (2007)
"Power kills. And absolute power kills en masse. Consider--the Soviet Union, 61,911,000 people murdered; the Chinese communists, 38,000,000; the Nazis, 17,000,000; the Chinese Nationalists, 10,214,000; the Japanese militarists in World War II, 5,890,000; the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia, 2,000,000; West Pakistan over East Pakistan, 2,000,000; Turkey during and after World War I, 1,500,000; and Yugoslavia after World War II, 1,105,000.
But this equation of power is not limited to democide. Power's human destructiveness is perfectly general. Power also breeds violence and war and all their associated killing. War, revolution, and democide are as natural to power as the lust for power is to our species".
Exploring the Problem Space, Why We Need Checks and Balances: Power Kills. Absolute Power Kills en Masse (October 15, 2019) Revised
“How can we prevent any one individual or group from acquiring absolute power? In a word: competition. That is, we need institutions, laws, and culture that enable competing sources of power and influence to flourish. These would include separation of powers, protections against majority rule, multiparty politics, states’ rights, free speech, free markets, intellectual humility and respect for the scientific process. But there is no guarantee against absolute power, because power feels so good and the lust for power aims to extend its reach, take on new challenges, and feel that rush again.”