Even though some modern dictators have caused significant devastation in our world, man's nature is intrinsically good. According to Mencius, a great Chinese philosopher (c. 371 – c. 289 BCE), man's nature is good. Mencius' thought was that man is born with a good heart, but due to many external influences he can become evil. The last century has brought us a few dictators who can be described by this ancient idea of ​​human nature. Joseph Stalin served as general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1953. Under Stalin's leadership, the Ukraine suffered from a famine so great that many considered it a act of genocide on the part of Stalin's government. During the famine period, Stalin also ordered purges within the Soviet Union of anyone considered an enemy of the state. The total number of deaths during Stalin's rule is estimated to have ranged from 10 to 60 million. However, Stalin was not always a bad person. He was born the son of a poor shoemaker. In his youth he was trained to be a priest, and after becoming a dictator, he acquired many titles over the years, including "Father of Nations", "Brilliant Genius of Humanity" and " Gardener of human happiness.” Throughout Stalin's tenure, the Soviet Union became a world power and even gained a brief technological lead in space exploration. By the age of 34, he had become a professional revolutionary and a member of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Party. It was here that Stalin was influenced by the people and policies that transformed him into the type of dictator he became. Ruhollah Khomeini is another dictator who started with a good education and middle of paper.... ..bad education, but then were influenced by religion, their teachers, their community or their friends and social groups. These influences could have been different and led them to become a true leader just for their people or an upstanding pillar of the community, but this was not the case. The teachings of Mencius show that man's nature is good until actuated or influenced by external forces. It is these forces that will persuade or convince a person to become good or bad. With every new baby that is born, will come these same influencing factors that will ultimately make him or her good or bad. Works CitedEncyclopedia.com Pol Pot. http://www.encyclopedia.com.Encyclopedia.com Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. http://www.encyclopedia.com.Britannica.com Ruhollah Khomeini. http://www.britannica.com.Enotes.com Joseph-Stalin http://www.enotes.com