What I fear most is power with impunity. I fear abuse of power

The Chilean author and witness of history, Isabel Allende, spoke with the tremor of truth when she declared: “What I fear most is power with impunity. I fear abuse of power, and the power to abuse.” In these words she lifts the veil on the most terrible of human dangers—not merely power, but power unbound by justice, unchecked by conscience, and unanswerable to law. For it is not strength itself that corrupts, but strength without limits, the force that acts in darkness knowing it will never be called to account.

The origin of this wisdom lies in Allende’s own homeland, where dictators ruled with iron fists, and voices of dissent were silenced by fear. She had seen how impunity transforms leaders into tyrants, and citizens into prey. To fear the abuse of power is not cowardice—it is clarity, the recognition that human beings, when granted unchecked authority, may forget their humanity and trample upon the weak. It is a warning as old as kings, yet as urgent as the present hour.

History itself bears witness. Consider Stalin’s Soviet Union, where the machinery of the state became a terror to its own people. Millions vanished into gulags and graves, not for crimes, but for existing in the shadow of suspicion. Here was power with impunity, a system where those in authority could destroy without consequence, and where the fear of questioning ensured the silence of a nation. Such examples reveal why Allende’s words resound with prophetic force—unchecked power is more deadly than any sword, for it devours nations from within.

The ancients, too, told of this danger. The Greeks warned through the tragedy of Oedipus and the hubris of kings who thought themselves above fate. The Romans enshrined laws to restrain consuls and emperors, knowing that without limits, power turns swiftly into abuse. To fear such impunity is not weakness, but wisdom, for it is the vigilance that keeps liberty alive.

Therefore, O children of the future, mark these words: do not fear the strong man who is bound by law and conscience; fear the one who believes himself above both. Do not surrender to rulers the blind obedience that becomes their weapon. Guard your voice, guard your freedom, and guard the balance of power, lest you awaken to find yourselves ruled not by leaders, but by predators with no leash. For the greatest danger is not power itself, but power to abuse—and the silence of those who let it reign unchecked.