Animal Farm by George Orwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For some, power is intoxicating, and they succumb to its corrupting influence. Leaders may have noble intentions when they rise to power, but most cannot handle the temptation to abuse that power. This story depicts that process from the beginning of a revolution when everyone's hopes are high--for a better world, a better life. It's interesting to watch the effects of the gradual corruption of the leader on those who are being led. Ignorance, apathy, naivete, and fear were all elements in the general population, which not only allowed the corruption to continue, but to escalate in its intensity. The oppression became almost unbearable but still the animals did not revolt due to their mistaken beliefs and perceptions.

The story relates directly to the rise of Soviet communism, but is relevant in many societies including our own. We are constantly seeing corruption in much of the leadership today--leaders overstep and abuse authority, make rules they don't follow, lie and manipulate to get their way, spend money unethically, create or capitalize on a crisis to usurp more authority "for the good of the people," ask others to sacrific while they live extravagantly on the backs of the oppressed, rewrite or circumvent laws that become inconvenient to them, and on, and on. A very well written, but sad commentary both on corrupt leadership and blind and misguided followers, or you might say the abusers and the enablers.

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