POLISH psychologist Andrew Lobaczewski called societies such individuals create “pathocracies”, ones that are ruled by the pathologically ill. Having lived in Poland under the Nazis during WWII and in the decades following the war under communism, he experienced first-hand what life is like under such regimes. Taking a broader perspective, he pondered why it was that throughout human history war, strife, cruelty and conflict—what the historian Arnold Toynbee called the "horrifying sense of sin manifest in human affairs,”—always seemed to be present. In his book, “Political Ponerology", which is a study* of such societies, LOBACZEWSKI examines the founders and supporters of oppressive regimes, and “the common factors that lead to the propagation of man’s inhumanity to man [where] morality and humanism cannot long withstand the predations of this evil.”
Simply put, he wanted to
understand why evil people succeeded, and yet so many good and moral people
seemed to fall behind. The answer is that people who are ruthless and
ambitious, and devoid of empathy have an advantage over people who have higher levels
of empathy and compassion and, in addition, typically shun positions of
power, choosing to develop communal relationships instead, thus leaving those
positions of power ripe for the taking by pathologically ill persons. Of course, not every holder of power in politics, in business, academia, the media, prisons/institutions etc., has a psychopathy,
but these are the breeding grounds where a greater percentage than the average are found.
ARGUABLY, "pathocracies", when they
form, have been the bane of their citizens throughout recorded history.
Professor Taylor, in his PT article, suggests one way to maintain the health of society (or university, business, or whatever) is to ensure democratic structures
and processes remain secure and vibrant, and to become familiar with the signs
and symptoms of the pathologically ill, so you won’t be conned by their false
charm and harmful manipulations. He argues for the creation of a board of examiners who would assess contenders’
fitness for political office, weeding out the ones who have psychopathic
tendencies, thus protecting society from their despotic impulses. Hmmm? I’ll put a pin in that and circle back later.
FOLKS, if we as a collective
cannot decide how to build a fair and equitable society based on mutual respect
and compassion, then maybe we will need to revisit Steve’s proposal. And
not to be too hard on him, I still think there must be a better way to go
about things. Think for a moment: An unelected, anonymous psychiatric cabal body deciding who can and
cannot be admitted to the ranks of leadership in society—what could go wrong? (Perhaps
Steve should take the test, to play it safe. Just sayin’.)
Cheers, Jake.
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* “Ponerology”
is
derived from the Greek word poneros, from the branch of theology dealing
with the study of evil.
Except yours can be held in check, examined, channeled in productive ways, and from a greater awareness about your own potential towards
psychopathy, you can better understand the forces that shape and drive the illness, and recognize the coercions, the tricks
and lies, the scams and shams, the violence and the need to destroy and dominate
that are exhibited by the psychopath, and how you might better defend yourself
from them.
“In life, you need to be able to withstand tragedy and to withstand malevolence...And the worst snake of all is malevolence.”
“By definition, if someone psychopathic has exploited you, you are too naïve. If you say, well that’s no fault of mine how could I be prepared? Fair enough…[it’s] a perfectly reasonable objection, but it doesn’t solve your problem. Because it’s an internal problem…”
“Without the potential [in yourself] for mayhem, you’re a potential victim of mayhem.” (Peterson, 2017)
