Unjust "justice"

One distressing thing about reading the book How soccer explains the world is the frequency with which some politicians tap into issues of injustice and inequity in order to rise to power, but are then just as corrupt and unjust as those they replace. Identification with football clubs seems to be one effective way to make the emotional connection they need with the masses in order to be swept into power. The "liberator" becoming the "oppressor" seems to happen in all cultures; whether it is communist idealogues in Russia, wealthy lawyers representing Labor parties in western democracies, nationalists in Serbia, revolutionaries in colonial Africa, .....

But this is not just a modern problem. I was interested to read in 2 Samuel 15 this morning about the Absalom's conspiracy in Israel. Here are a few extracts:

Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him.²And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment... ⁴Then Absalom would say, "Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice."...So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

The Tomb of Absalom is shown above.