Corporate Psychopathy :

[Ichingcarpenter]

This article not only describes the illness but how it affects each branch of government.



CORPORATE PSYCHOPATHY
Montague Ullman, M, D.




In psychiatry there is a diagnostic entity variously known as psychopath, sociopath and antisocial personality disorder. The central feature of this disorder is the failure to develop any ethical standards of social behavior, The concept of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is foreign to the psychopath. That remarkable advice is replaced by "do unto others as it pleases you regardless of consequences." We do not know for sure the cause of such behavior, whether it is genetic in origin, the result of early developmental trauma, or a combination of the two. The outstanding feature is that the psychopath has a natural talent for using and exploiting others and does so with such skill that true motives remain concealed by ingratiating ways and apparent normality. At some point the bubble bursts and the victim awakens to the reality that they have been taken.

In a democratic society government is supposed to serve the needs of every member of that society. There are two models for such societies, Both involve capitalism. The social democratic societies, such as in Scandinavia, temper the profit motive so as to restrict the massive inequities and ensure that health, education, security and opportunity is available to all. They do this by a system of taxation that succeeds in narrowing the gap between the haves and the have-nots so that a significant proportion of the population is not in trouble.

In the United States where capitalism is given a much freer rein there is the possibility of the profit motive getting so out of hand that those on top are enriched at the expense of those left behind, That is "wild capitalism". The recent run of failures of formerly very profitable corporations are a prime example of that, and how painful it is for those who are ultimately victimized by it. Victimhood is the characteristic feature of psychopathy.

A corporation has been endowed with personhood by the Supreme Court. It is not a person but it is run by persons. If the ethical standards of those at the top fail to maintain a certain level of social responsibility, the result is the insidious onset of corporate psychopathic behavior. A few get very rich and the others wake up one day to find themselves abandoned by the institution they trusted. We now have to take into account the corporation as a psychopathic entity outfitting all prior attempts on the part of governmental regulating agencies to control its behavior. A reactionary government succumbing to corporate power colludes in this happening by weakening regulatory controls, In his book "The Corporation", Joel Bakan offers a thorough account of corporate psychopathy,



Much much more:


http://siivola.org/monte/papers_grouped/uncopyrighted/Misc/corporate_psychopathy.htm

[Laelth]

1. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[Live and Learn]

2. K&R nt

[chervilant]

3. Every individual concerned about our economy

would do well to read Bakan's book. Wouldn't hurt to watch "Capitalism, a Love Story."

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

4. K&R n/t

[King_Klonopin]

5. Copy of thread I posted a few days ago:

Cal suggested I post a separate thread on this subject.

I have referred to American capitalism in past posts as
"malignant" because a once-healthy organism has mutated
into something pathological and self-destructive.

The film "The Corporation", which is a documentary series
made in 2003 by a Canadian filmmaker, is a great tutorial
on the subject of malignant, sociopathic corporatism. It makes a
great case to support the thesis that the behavior of American
corporations meets the definition of "sociopathic".

Every patron of DU should watch this film. It is much more
factual and analytical than "Capitalism: A Love Story". As I watched
it, it made me shake my head in disgust over the injustice and the
coming doom of our economic construct which began under Reagan
in the 1980's. I stopped watching before the end credits because it
was so demoralizing and the point had been clearly made.

Citizens United may be a death knell because it empowers the
sociopaths to be anonymous, unfettered and unaccountable.

Things that can reverse this trend (or put it in remission):

1) Repeal of Citizens United
2) Campaign Finance Reform.
3) Resurgence of labor unions
4) Consequences for antisocial behavior (i.e. people need to go
to jail)
5) Impeachment of Scalia, Roberts and Alito.
6) An SEC and DOJ that actually does their jobs.

[Uncle Joe]

6. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Ichingcarpenter.

[mitty14u2]

7. Offshore Cash Hoard Expands by $183 Billion at Companies

Offshore Cash Hoard Expands by $183 Billion at Companies

Mar 8, 2013, Who knows what it is now?

The largest U.S.-based companies expanded their untaxed offshore stockpiles by $183 billion in the past year, increasing such holdings by 14.4 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL). and Google Inc (GOOG). each added to their non-U.S. holdings by more than 34 percent as they reaped the benefits of past maneuvers to earn and park profits in low- tax countries. Combined, those three companies alone plan to keep $134.5 billion outside the U.S. government’s reach, more than double the $59.3 billion they held two years earlier.

The build-up of offshore profits -- totaling $1.46 trillion for the 83 companies examined -- is increasing because of incentives in the U.S. tax code for booking profits offshore and leaving them there. The stockpiles complicate attempts to overhaul the tax system as lawmakers look for ways to bring the money home and discourage profit shifting.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-08/offshore-cash-hoard-expands-by-183-billion-at-companies.html

These A-Holes worried about Benghazi and ObamaCare, Red Herrings for what’s really going on by Corporate Elites and Wall Street, Tax Free! Oh Jobs, why bring Jobs home, Screw That!

[jtuck004]

8. I like the disclaimer, the warning...

"Comment: This, of course, does not literally apply to a corporation. Corporations do have a beginning with the incorporation followed by a growth period which then leads to a successful or unsuccessful maturity. The temptation to skirt the law may occur at any time. Early indications involve looking for loopholes in the law, setting up phoney offshore subsidiaries and courting political power to ease regulatory restrictions."

Suggesting that there does not have to be a "corporation" for the illness to manifest itself. Might also be that the corporation is not the only one afflicted by the "disease", because the politician may be similarly afflicted, and neither one is aware of the other - almost like lepers in a colony, except one could see that, of course. Yet both may be so good at "masking" their behavior we will never know until years after, when we survey the damage they left behind and realize they were not who we thought they were.