• The modern Greek word "δήμος" (THEE-mos) ≈ "municipality".
• In Bible times, the Greek word «δύμος» meant "people" or "public".

Note the German "Volk" and the Norsk "folket" for "people".

The German automobile company "Volkswagon" means, literally, the "people's wagon" or car.

The Latin word for "people" as "populus" is the source of the English word "population".

A form of democracy arose In ancient Greece. Often this involved some form of mob rule and these (and later) democracies ended up in tyranny/dictatorship.

• What is "socialism"?
• What does the Bible say about "socialism"?
• What is "capitalism"?
• What does the Bible say about "capitalism"?

• The modern Greek word "κράτος" (KRA-tos) ≈ "state".
• In Bible times, the Greek word «κράτος» meant "power".

Note that while the English word "noun" comes from the Greek word for "name" the English word "verb" comes from the Latin word "verbum".

Note: Old Church Slavonic later became Russian and other Slavic languages.

So many Slavic peoples were enslaved throughout the centuries that this is the source of the English word "slave" as opposed to "servant".

The founding fathers of the American Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution noticed this and tried to build in safe-guards in the forms of enumeration of powers, checks and balances, etc., to avoid this unhealthy transition.

At the time, many people were serious Christians and Peter had said to "honor the King".

• The Latin word "regem" ≈ "king" from
• The Russian word "царь" (czar) ≈ "king" is the source of the English word "czar".

Any form of government where the people do not honor the established reign of power will have difficulty maintaining that form of government. In totalitarian regimes that rule is established by fear and might. In a democracy, that rule is established by the people accepting that form of rule as legitimate. Where the people in general are not Christian or do not accept that belief, that government may have difficulty surviving as a democracy. (Declaration of Independence)

The American Revolution let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. While attempting to base the Declaration of Independence on Biblical principles, no later revolution of the people made any such pretense.

Note that all later socialist revolutions were atheist in nature.

The French Revolution led to a more than 10,000 people losing their heads over the matter. The French democracy was short-lived.

Soon, General Napoleon Bonaparte took over as dictator. Napoleon was not French but was born in Corsica.

The modern nationalist movement created huge armies and huge casualties - all in the name of humanistic democracy.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 ended the rule of the Czar and started a democracy.

Lenin took advantage of the democracy to take over, promising anything and everything to anyone who would listen.

After he took over, he got rid of all opposition and ignored any promises made. Millions died in the ensuing Russian Civil War (Reds vs. Whites).

The result was the USSR, the United Soviet Socialist Republic. Soon, Stalin, who was not Russian, but Georgian, took over.

In 1932-1933 Stalin starved about 10,000,000 of his own people to death in the Ukraine and Black Sea area.

In total, Stalin eliminated upwards of 20,000,000 of his own people. The initial Russian Revolution led to a fledgling democracy. Lenin, however, took advantage of the situation, promising almost anything to anyone knowing that if he got power, he could do anything he wanted. This takeover, in the bigger Russian Revolution, led to many millions of people killed as groups fought to see who would be the leader of the people.

After World War I, the fledgling Weimar Republic was the democracy of Germany.

Hitler, who was not German, but Austrian, attempted a takeover by force in the 1920's, but it failed.

After the economy all but collapsed in Weimar Germany, Hitler and the National Socialist Party, or Nazi party, used the rules of the democracy against itself to take over in 1933.

Hitler was responsible for about 10,000,000 civilian deaths, including about 6,000,000 Jews.

During and after World War II, communist socialists and national socialists fought for control of China.

Mao established his version of communist socialism on China.

In the 1960's, it is estimated that about 60,000,000 people "disappeared" during the "cultural" revolution.

The holding back of power is a form of temperance or continence that is expressed in another Greek word.