Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms. Aristotle.
Idealism is the despot of thought, just as politics is the despot of will. Mikhail Bakunin
If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master. The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his subjects a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual. Frank Herbert
Absolute power corrupts even when exercised for humane purposes. The benevolent despot who sees himself as a shepherd of the people still demands from others the submissiveness of sheep. Eric Hoffer
Bureaucracy, the rule of no one, has become the modern form of despotism. Mary McCarthy
Religions are the cradles of despotism. Marquis de Sade