[gwright]

One rationale for limited government is that there is a direct, positive correlation between the power ceded to government and the incentive to control/steer that power. By limiting the power of government you reduce the incentive to usurp or corrupt that power.

An extreme example of this would be a dictatorial regime where control of the government becomes a life-or-death concern for warring groups.

[etherael]

I agree, that's what I'm getting at. But instead contrast that idea with the more broadly accepted one that it's wealth that's the problem not power even though the former seems like a much more accurate description than the latter.

Maybe it's just a bug in humanity; control the world with this one weird trick.