"[I]t is the tragedy of all collectivisms that the most unscrupulous and most ruthless member is most likely to rise to the position of leadership, certainly when leadership means power," reflected Dr. J.B. Matthews, one-time director of research for congressional counter-subversion committees, in his memoir Odyssey of a Fellow Traveler. "The organization of vast political power and its successful retention in a single hand is more likely than not to put a premium upon qualities which we commonly associate with the ‘big shots’ of gangsterism." Harvard Professor Pitirim Sorokin made much the same observation in a survey of rulers throughout...