In the poorest countries, where illiteracy is high, desperate people are subject to government manipulation, and there is a lack of independent control through the media and professional organizations, governments face only weak control by society. They tend to be the most despotic and corrupt, not because poor people care less about good governance – on the contrary, their very lives depend on it – but because they lack the means to keep their government disciplined and law abiding.
在最贫穷国家，文盲比例很高，绝望的民众受到政府操纵，缺乏通过媒体以及专业组织的独立监督，政府只面对来自社会的微弱的控制。它们有可能最为专制和腐败，这并不是由于贫苦民众对良好的管制漠不关心（相反，他们的生计取决于此），而是由于他们缺乏控制政府并使其守法的手段。