Politics, Psychopathy and the Nature of Evil

[inna]

Politics, Psychopathy and the Nature of Evil


An amazing read. It’s very long and not very well structured (since it’s an interview, not an article), but it’s TOTALLY worth reading, even if it takes several sessions (really, you OWE it to yourself).


Here’s what people said about it:

“WONDERFUL!!! BRILLIANT!!! this is the most exciting work i have read in decades. . .”

“This article will help you understand things which were previously incomprehensible. . .when you read it, you will understand why i am saying this. . .”

“This is one of the most interesting and thought-provoking things I've ever read. . .”

“Truly fascinating, and a great way to reframe the situation.. . .”



Anyway, here’s the article: http://uspolitics.tribe.net/thread/abb2282c-badb-464e-a08f-5bc8e63b1fd9


And here’s my take on it:

:: :: ::
to me, the main revelation (which seems completely self-obvious, once you get it) is this: psychopathy (i.e., LACK of CONSCIENCE and compassion) is an adaptive trait and an extremely successful life strategy - it offers great evolutionary/survival advantages (in darwinian terms). Psychopaths - who lack morals completely, only care about their own self-interest, and are preoccupied with lying, f*cking other people over, and seeking power/control of others - are extremely successful under many social systems such as predatory capitalism, or stalinist-style communism, or fascism - in fact, such systems themselves are a PRODUCT of their function.

what do we get? we get a PATHOCRACY - essentially, a government staffed by psychological deviants.


<<What can we do? Just say 'no' to participating in the psychopathology. Stop giving them what they want.

Heh. Good luck with *that*, but ... what other choices do we have? We'd better figure this out, pronto.>>

heh, my thoughts exactly. unfortunately, we normals (i.e., 94% of the population) are at a disadvantage here - while normal people are preoccupied with "silly notions like morals-shmorals" and/or their daily routines, the psychological deviants have been busy grabbing power and control. where do we go from here? good question.
:: :: ::


But… definitely read the whole thing: http://uspolitics.tribe.net/thread/abb2282c-badb-464e-a08f-5bc8e63b1fd9

[inna]

1. this link might work better...

http://uspolitics.tribe.net/thread/abb2282c-badb-464e-a08f-5bc8e63b1fd9#082fb1f1-41f1-4cd9-aa1e-9a6b8200b3b8

[Jim Sagle]

2. Vicious antisemitic filth.

All shame to these learned pseudoscientists who sugar-coat THEIR pathology and project it onto others.

[undergroundpanther]

5. Well, do you understand psychopathy affects every population?

Anti semitism is just another game the psychopaths exploit,and on both sides of the issues. The problem of psychopathy has NOTHING to do with race,being gay or straight ,or your gender identity, nothing to do with income ,nationality or how good or bad psychopaths were treated as a kids,whether the psychopath suffered abuse or not... It has to do with INDIVIDUALS from any walk of life,but who have toxic PERSONALITIES, the problem is with toxic personality. Don't confuse the issues here.
Basically we are locked on a planet where 1 in 4 people are so toxic and so evil in who they are as a personality, they would abuse us,use us,lie to us, harm us,exploit us to get whatever they wanted and not feel a bit of remorse guilt or shame,and if caught can effectively FAKE remorse to keep on ruthlessly destroying others to get what they want because they think they are ENTITLED to..

[Jim Sagle]

6. 1 in 4? I thought the article said 4%.

And no, antisemitism is not a game. By singling out Israel and accusing it of practicing genocide, the authors are practicing the psychopathy they pretend to oppose.

[undergroundpanther]

7. You misunderstood

I was not saying anti Semitic is a game, oh hell no, it is a horror humanity should be over and done with and know to never repeat again.. Much to my anger some humans repeat it and haven't learned why racism and eugenics is evil.
I was wondering why you were bringing it up as if the OP was anti semitic. I didn't see it. Please show me where you saw it.

Also that statistic number depends on which kinds of combinations of these toxic disorders are included in the counts.

If you add in not just psychopathy but put in authoritarianism and narcissism you come up with a higher number.Authoritarian personality,narcissism and psychopathy combined was what led hitler to be the cruel damaging anti Semitic asshole he was.

[Jim Sagle]

10. My turn to apologize for not being clear. I have nothing against the OP, only against the "experts'

quoted in the link.

[pocoloco]

3. "The Sociopath Next Door"

From Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Sociopath-Next-Door-Martha-Stout/dp/076791581X

" Stout says that as many as 4% of the population are conscienceless sociopaths who have no empathy or affectionate feelings for humans or animals."


One out of twenty five, not good.

[AZBlue]

4. Very interesting!

Thanks for the post!!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. Fascinating and all too true. K&R

I am reminded of "Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland" by Browning, in which he describes the "ordinary men" who carried out the rounding up and killing of Jews in Poland.

And, "I Shall Bear Witness" by Victor Klemperer. A diary kept by an intellectual German Jew from the advent of Hitler until the end of the war. Parts of which describe how average, "decent", Germans turned against the Jews at the behest of society.

[Joe Chi Minh]

9. Totally absorbing. I've been a going on about quite a bit of this on

DU, but this gives a so much richer and more erudite perspective on the subject.

However, there are one or two lacunae in the authors understanding, it seems to me, in certain regards. Most strikingly, he cites the ever-greater proliferation of the perverse/pathological, without apparently, its having occurred to him that this very process is contemporaneous with the downgrading of Christianity as your historical State religion (in the US, de facto, if anyone wants to argue the Constitution) and the dilution of the over-arching Christian ethos of your society). In the UK, the process has deteriorated still further.

Also, as John the Baptist had done before him, Christ, in fact, did very clearly identify the majority of the scribes, Pharisees, lawyers, etc., the religious Establisment of the day, as the 18% of society comprising the psychopaths and their venal ancillaries, i.e evidently a substantial majority of the religious/political class in their theocracy. Moreover, he very unequivocally described their "invincible ignorance", their refusal to accept the truth about himself in the face of major miracles performed before their eyes, as the unforgivable sin - "because it is an eternal sin"! In other words, incurable. People he said, could blaspheme against him and find forgiveness, but refusal to accept the deepest truths when plainly placed before them, was unforgivable.