You can't rule people with rape, robbery, torture and murder for long. They WILL rebel.
That's an extreme example, but it holds in the lesser extreme examples as well. When the "leaders" grossly overtax their people, the people will rebel. When they impose absurd and extreme punishments to enforce religious belief, the people will rebel.
The point is that people will rebel sooner or later when their leaders abuse their power. Ultimately, they HAVE TO rebel, just to survive. Because power corrupts, and the greater the power the greater the corruption. And corruption = destruction. Every time.
The first rule of leadership is to lead by serving. And it's a rule that few leaders in history have taken to heart. Which is why so many of them have succumbed to ignominy, in the end.
Here is the real rule of culture:
Human culture is governed by the individual's need to cooperate with others, to survive, and by our universal desire to avoid suffering.
Any ideology, or leader, that doesn't mind this rule will eventually be stripped of power.