Yes there’s an element of people not wanting to lose their power. But for every dickhead powermod there are dozens of small subreddits with a handful of people working hard to establish and maintain a community, largely altruistically and thanklessly.

Modding, when it’s done well by dedicated people with a passion for their subject, can be incredibly powerful. There are some communities (eg legaladvice, askhistorians) that are unique and just couldn’t exist without those people dedicating untold hours to tending to them to prevent them from descending into chaos. Not to mention the custom tools almost all of them rely on.

Have a read of Legaladviceuk announcement.