Promise of the Absolute: The Inevitability of Corruption in Leadership and Power

History is riddled with tales of leaders courting authoritarianism and dictatorial desires when leading institutions, organizations, and countries. Some who enter positions of authority with the best of intentions at times fall prey to the temptation of self-gratifying motives. Is this human nature or a function of the ways in which society conceptualizes leadership? What role do associates, supporters, and constituents play? For those who have resisted the lure of self-aggrandizement, were there certain protocols and characteristics that keep them balanced, or were these individuals skilled at not being exposed? This conversation explores this failure (or fallacy) of leadership and inevitably invites far more questions than answers.