The government can help manage the country better than a smaller government.<span />
George Washington came from a very wealthy family, so I would assume so. His father came from wealth and married his housemaid.
Stalin used a multitude of methods to secure power. Regarding what you said he used all of those. He created a secret police to consolidate power, murdered rivals and party members, a one party state to eliminate the democratic process, and finally persecuted Jewish doctors
