For power and self-preservation

 

The Harry Potter franchise, written by J.K. Rowling, is beloved by millions around the world. However, there are some fans who are left wondering why the Death Eaters served Lord Voldemort when he promised to enslave or kill them along with everyone else. It's a valid question, and one that can be answered by examining human nature and the power of charisma.

Firstly, it's important to note that Voldemort was an incredibly charismatic and persuasive dark wizard. He was able to gain followers by validating their sense of superiority and promising them luxury, power, and safety from the Muggle/non-pureblood threat. Purebloods, in particular, are afraid of the growing influence of wizards and witches of lesser blood purity, as muggleborns/half-bloods/blood traitors become more acceptable and gain more privileges. This undermines the established power system in which pureblood families enjoy significant advantages which allow them to hoard the majority of the money/power in the wizarding world.

Perpetuating the idea that Muggles and muggle-born wizards are inherently inferior beings is a convenient way to rationalize the restriction of their freedoms, thereby allowing purebloods to maintain their disproportionate share of wealth and influence. Voldemort's ideals would have been highly comforting to these wizards, and they would have loved the reassurance that under Voldemort's regime, purebloods would maintain their status at the top of wizarding society.

This is not unlike the reasons why people have followed other charismatic and/or powerful evil monsters throughout history, from Hitler to Stalin to Saddam to Vladimir Putin, to name just a few recent examples. Most of which reasons boil down to basic game theory and human nature.

Some Death Eaters may have been motivated by a lust for real power. Being "enslaved" by Voldemort while lording it over pretty much everyone else doesn't sound like a bad deal to a LOT of people. This is particularly true of those who make the best lieutenants, such as the Malfoys. Others may have been just generally evil and willing to follow someone who enables their evil inclinations to be expressed, such as the Crabb/Goyle types for a small-time kind of example, or Dolores Umbridge for a larger one. And still, others may have agreed with Voldemort's politics that wizards should rule over Muggles, stronger wizards should rule over weaker ones, such as the Malfoys and many others.

There were also those who were easily swayed by a crowd or a strong charismatic leader, which Tom Riddle most certainly was. Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail is a perfect example of a weak personality that can easily be swayed. Additionally, there were those who followed Voldemort because they hated a specific Muggle/wizard, and the Death Eaters provided both a means of revenge and moral support, such as Snape vs. James Potter. Some Death Eaters may have followed because their family belonged to the Death Eaters, or their best friend was one, such as many Slytherins (e.g., Crabb, Goyle, Draco).

For many, being "enslaved" by Voldemort wasn't much of a deal - in reality, they were just low-level followers of a faction/army, and the alternative was a low-paying wizard job, unemployment, or an unfulfilling life. Voldemort promised to elevate their status in society and give them purpose.

Death Eaters served Lord Voldemort for a variety of reasons, ranging from fear and lust for power to agreeing with his politics and ideologies. Additionally, Voldemort's charisma and persuasive nature played a significant role in gaining followers. While the Death Eaters' actions were unquestionably evil, it's essential to examine the motivations behind their allegiance to Voldemort to better understand human nature.

𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘:

𝐽𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓-𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦, 𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑠, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑓 𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑚𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑃𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑛, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑡'𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑚𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑢𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠, 𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒. 𝑈𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠.

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1Alvin E. Lauran