Psychopaths in Charge
Posted: January 2, 2011 Filed under: Civil Liberties, Corporate Crime, financial institutions, Global Financial Crisis, Human Rights, income inequality, investment banking, psychology, torture, U.S. Economy, U.S. Politics | Tags: Alan Simpson, American Psycho, antisocial personality disorder, Bernie Madoff, Brett Easton Ellis, CEOs, investment bankers, John Ensign, Mark Sanford, politicians, psychopaths, sociopaths 73 Comments
In 1991, Brett Easton Ellis published a brilliant satirical novel called American Psycho. The book is narrated by a young man, Patrick Bateman, a graduate of Harvard and Harvard Business School, who is now a fabulously wealthy Wall Street investment banker with a pricey apartment on Manhattan’s Upper west side. In other words, he’s a typical ’80s yuppie, benefiting from the “Reagan Revolution.”
Bateman is utterly materialistic and narcissistic, obsessed with things like getting a reservation at the most trendy, expensive restaurant of the moment and having a more perfectly designed and printed business card than any of the other yuppies he works with. He is engaged to another yuppie named Evelyn, but he doesn’t really have any feelings for her. She is just another status symbol for him to show off to his Wall Street colleagues.
As the book progresses, it becomes clear that Bateman is filled with narcissistic rage. He begins torturing and murdering people–a homeless man, his secretary, a business associate, and more. The crimes become successively more violent and horrifying. In conversations with coworkers, he tells anecdotes about serial killers and even confesses his own crimes, but no one takes him seriously. These other numb, detached young men simply assume Bateman is joking and laugh at his bizarre, inappropriate remarks.
Toward the end of the book, there are hints that Bateman’s descriptions of violent murders could be hallucinations or fantasies–or they might have really happened. The interpretation is left to the reader.
Ellis told an interviewer that he wrote American Psycho at a time in his life when he was living an isolated, consumerist lifestyle, somewhat like Bateman’s:
He did not come out of me sitting down and wanting to write a grand sweeping indictment of yuppie culture. It initiated because my own isolation and alienation at a point in my life. I was living like Patrick Bateman. I was slipping into a consumerist kind of void that was supposed to give me confidence and make me feel good about myself but just made me feel worse and worse and worse about myself. That is where the tension of “American Psycho” came from. It wasn’t that I was going to make up this serial killer on Wall Street. High concept. Fantastic. It came from a much more personal place…
American Psycho was not well received by reviewers–before or after publication. In fact, the original publisher, Simon & Schuster, cancelled their contract with Ellis based on “aesthetic differences.” The book was never released in hardcover, but was eventually published in a quality paperback edition by Vintage Books. After its publication, Ellis was on the receiving end of a flood of hate mail and even death threats.
Today, Ellis points out, the blood and gore that was so shocking in his 1991 book is all around us.
You see it in “Saw” movies or in “Hostel” or anywhere. The gore is mainstream. The stuff you see now wass unimaginable in 1991 and that’s one reason why it caught on. The availability of that kind of subject matter was limited. It was limited to maybe certain graphic novels or transgressive fiction or certain out-there horror films but it wasn’t part of the mainstream. the accessibility of it was unique. This is how we’re rolling now.
What I took from the novel when I first read it was that it was a perfect representation of the societal effects of Reaganism. In the ’80s, American culture became more materialistic, superficial, and value-free than ever before. Reaganism taught that “greed is good.” Becoming wealthy became the highest goal for many Americans. At the same time, anyone who was poor, sick, or disabled was reviled. Reagan made Social Darwinism fashionable again.
Under Reagan, we closed hospitals for the mentally ill and threw them into the streets to beg and to wander our cities muttering as they listened to the voices in their heads. The need for low-cost housing and maintaining public infrastructure was ridiculed, and poor families with children began to wander our city streets homeless, sleeping in their cars or in public parks. Meanwhile the rich continued to get richer, greedier, and more callous toward people who had less than they did.
What other result could we have expected than the America we live in today? We live in a country in which so many people are cold, callous, and calculating, seeking to amass as much money as possible at the expense of ordinary taxpayers. Investment bankers like Ellis’s Patrick Bateman are treated like gods, shielded from any negative effects of their own lying, cheating, and stealing.
Today the message I take from American Psycho is even more troubling to me than when I first read the novel years ago. I see Bateman’s serial murders as symbolic of the damage out-of-control capitalism is doing to us as a people. I look at our political leaders and see empty, cold, callous people with no core values except how to get the most money and power for themselves, and screw the rest of us. They are serial murderers too, only they manage to distance themselves from those they murder in their wars and through their pro-corporate, anti-human policies.
The America we live in today is much like the surreal world that Brett Easton Ellis created in American Psycho, except that we now have even more electronic gadgets, more stuff to do on the internet, more “reality” TV shows where we can ridicule fat people or people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or people trying to sing and dance. We have books and movies so violent that people become desensitized to depictions of blood and gore that seemed shocking in 1991. We are in decline in every way–our health, our incomes, our infrastructure, our rights, our values, our privacy. And the rich are richer and the poor are poorer now than at the end of the Ronald Reagan era.
I know I’m not the only one here who thinks we are being ruled by psychopaths–whether we’re talking about government officials or the heads of corporations. I really believe that, and I don’t mean it as hyperbole. I think the richest among us are the most likely to be detached and callous, because they don’t even have to see the poor and suffering people they are hurting with their greed. Their wealth insulates them from the daily struggles of the vast majority of Americans.
I think this is a subject that is worth talking about. Do you need to be at least a subclinical psychopath to be willing to do the kinds of immoral things government officials, corporate CEOs, and investment bankers do? Like lying in order to enter illegal wars so you can steal oil from other countries and murder hundreds of thousands of their citizens? Like sending young Americans to die for oil and a dying empire? Like taking jobs away from Americans and replacing them with slave labor in third world countries? Like throwing people out of their homes illegally? Like testing drugs on babies and children? Like polluting the water, air, and food with chemicals and refusing to clean up your messes?
I think you have to be a very sick person to do those things. And how is it different from what a serial killer does? First, government officials and corporate CEOs kill and maim and destroy people in far greater numbers and with more powerful weapons than a serial killer. Second, government officials and corporate CEOs don’t need to get close to the blood and death. They get other people to do their killing so they don’t have to see or hear their victims suffer.
So what exactly is a psychopath? Robert Hare, now emeritus professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia developed a checklist used by professionals to identify people with psychopathic tendencies.
People who are psychopathic prey ruthlessly on others using charm, deceit, violence or other methods that allow them to get with they want. The symptoms of psychopathy include: lack of a conscience or sense of guilt, lack of empathy, egocentricity, pathological lying, repeated violations of social norms, disregard for the law, shallow emotions, and a history of victimizing others.
Hare’s checklist (the PCL-R) is used in combination with a semi-structured clinical interview (an interview with set questions that allows the interviewer to follow up with his or her own questions when appropriate) and a detailed review of medical and psychiatric records. The following are the 20 traits for the evaluator to watch for:
•glib and superficial charm
•grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self
•need for stimulation
•pathological lying
•cunning and manipulativeness
•lack of remorse or guilt
•shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness)
•callousness and lack of empathy
•parasitic lifestyle
•poor behavioral controls
•sexual promiscuity
•early behavior problems
•lack of realistic long-term goals
•impulsivity
•irresponsibility
•failure to accept responsibility for own actions
•many short-term marital relationships
•juvenile delinquency
•revocation of conditional release
•criminal versatility
Not all of these characteristics would have to be met for someone to be diagnosed as a psychopath.
Each of the twenty items is given a score of 0, 1, or 2, based on how well it applies to the subject being tested. A prototypical psychopath would receive a maximum score of 40, while someone with absolutely no psychopathic traits or tendencies would receive a score of zero. A score of 30 or above qualifies a person for a diagnosis of psychopathy. People with no criminal backgrounds normally score around 5. Many non-psychopathic criminal offenders score around 22.
The checklist was originally designed for evaluating prison inmates, but not everyone with psychopathic characteristics becomes a criminal. I am arguing that many of them go into business or politics, am I’m far from the only one to suggest that. In fact Hare himself co-wrote a book called Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work. Other books that make similar arguments are The Sociopath Next Door, by Martha Stout, and The Psychopathy of Everyday Life: How Antisocial Personality Disorder Affects Us All, by Martin Kantor.
Just a bit about terminology. Psychopathy and Sociopathy are essential the same thing. Antisocial Personality Disorder is similar too, but could perhaps apply to people who wouldn’t score 30 on Hare’s checklist. I don’t know why the names of this disorder keep changing–it may just be because some psychiatrists see studying prison inmates as somewhat disreputable. Anyway, psychopathy is no longer listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (latest version: DSM IV-TR). Instead, it is subsumed under “antisocial personality disorder.” Here is the DSM-IV-TR criteria for APD:
A. There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
1. failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
2. deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
3. impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
4. irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults
5. reckless disregard for safety of self or others
6. consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations
7. lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.
B. The individual is at least age 18 years.
C. There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.
D. The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or a manic episode.
That official characteristics of APD are much less extreme than the ones on Hare’s checklist. I think it’s fairly obvious that many of our political and business leaders could meet at least three of those criteria. But can anyone argue that someone like Bernie Madoff could not be classified as a full-blown psychopath according to Hare’s criteria? What about Alan Simpson? What about someone like John Ensign or Mark Sanford? I believe I could make an argument for many more of our political and business leaders being either clinical or subclinical psychopaths.
There is some evidence that psychopathy is at least partly genetic, although most criminal psychopaths who have been studied had very abusive childhoods. There is also evidence for differences in the brains of psychopaths compared to typical brains.
I’m going to get into this topic in more detail in a future post. But for now, what do you think? Would it be useful for us to stop denying reality and accept that the psychopaths are in charge of our society?
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I don’t know that they are all psychopaths as much as many are enablers. On a sidenote, have you ever watched the reality show Undercover Boss? It’s completely funny to watch the pencil pushers in charge relate to the average employee. Now mind you it seems fairly obvious the show is scripted because the formula is the same for each episode ie boss gets mocked as someone who would not be hired by one hardworking employee. Boss is touched by the personal narrative of another. etc etc. Still it is interesting to hear the surprise of “I had no idea” and easy to understand where our government gets it’s “who could have ever imagined ” narrative from.
This is fascinating, BB. I have known and currently know people who have exhibited almost all of the behaviors listed in the first list. I wonder what is the root cause? Is it genetic or physiological, or is it a result of some trauma or event at an early age? The people I have known have grown up in families, and their siblings do not have these traits.
It’s so frightening to think that people running our government have these traits. One thing I have always thought about the people I have known is, “Thank God they are not in a position of power or authority over others…”
Like every psychological disorder, there is probably a genetic component, but it takes environmental stress of some kind even to trigger schizophrenia. It’s always a combination of things. But I think our society as a whole is getting more narcissistic and psychopathic. I think it takes some self awareness and moral values instilled in childhood to keep us from going that way–because our culture is so sick.
Speaking for myself only, as BTD says.
I think there’s no question that more and more people are narcissistic and psychopathic. Jean Twenge has written two good books on that subject, the first discusses it in terms of Americans born after 1970, it’s called “Generation Me,” and the second, “The Narcissism Epidemic,” addresses it more broadly.
I agree with most of your points. I think when people are born/reared in poverty it has it’s affects on the brain, it’s the combination of things. When people who are born & raised in the middle class, and they lose their homes, and jobs, and their way of life, and slip into poverty, it to has it’s affects on the brain. That is why we have become a nation of mentally depressed people, and why the violence levels go up. Then you have the group born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and they want more, and more, and more. And will
step all over you to get more money and power.
Data indicating biologically-based differences are quite strong (differences in size of structures within paralimbic system, surprisingly high heritability estimates for both psychopathy and NPD, etc.). Psychopaths are notoriously difficult to treat (though they can con well in this regard – a Canadian study found that psychopaths were 2.5 times more likely to obtain early release from prison, despite being more likely to re-offend). Certain treatment modalities have shown some efficacy though.
But even for a trait with extremely high heritability – some children in a family will inherit the relevant alleles, while others won’t. I don’t want to imply that I think it’s all biologically predetermined – I don’t actually believe that. And I agree with BB that societal changes are likely greatly exacerbating these tendencies (see Blue Lyon’s post the other day on the decline in self-reported empathy over the last three decades). But I think the biological component is surprisingly strong. Also – in this regard – look up Obama’s father. Also – to a much lesser extent – his maternal grandfather (unfortunately, people tend to choose romantic relationships that replicate problematic aspects of family of origin).
Do you have the link to that Canadian study ?
Here are links to the paper and a BBC article in which the paper’s first author was interviewed.
Thanks … was really curious about it!!
Thank you for those links. Very interesting!
Affinis, thanks for mentioning that and the link to that Canadian study.
Having dealt with the effects of psychopaths in my own life it’s obvious to me that they not only literally get away with murder more often than murderers with a conscience, but are much more competent at getting themselves out of having to serve punishment when caught at a variety of misbehavior. That goes for psychopaths who act out in more mundane ways than murder or sexual molestation, like for instance those in business or media or politics, or who simply mess around with a victim’s personal relationships and finances.
We probably reach that “psychopathic” state of being when we are able to discount any sense of empathy when it comes to dealing with our fellow man.
When we stand back and watch a person’s home burn to the ground because he failed to pay a charge for service.
When we permit ourselves to take the position that denying healthcare to others who are without the means is perfectly reasonable.
When we become immune to the consequences of our actions and are able to justify our decision making by pretending that it comes from a “higher power”.
When we continue to advocate for wars and atrocities by suggesting that it is all done in the name of “security” while disregarding the suffering imposed upon others.
When we allow lawmakers to exempt the unemployed and hero responders from consideration and shrug it off as “politics at work”.
We all share in this brand of pathology when we sit back and permit the insanity that flows forth from the minds and mouths of these people who continue to bleat without a shred of conscience toward their fellow man. The answer to how they can possibly live with themselves, or sleep easily at night, is because they lack the most basic element that binds us together as people: a conscience.
It’s true that people can become desensitized and dehumanized by doing those kinds of things. We don’t have the ability to empathize with everyone’s tragedies either. But some people are actually born without the ability to experience empathy and even without the ability deeply experience emotions unless they are directed toward the self. I suspect that is true of both Obama and Bush.
Brilliant? I’d say monsterous. Having read the controversy over its release, I succumbed to my curiousity and read virtually the whole thing standing up in a bookstore. By the time I’d finished, I was shaking and in tears. I couldn’t sleep that night and the terror it instilled stayed with me for days. Until then, I’d never imagined that such hatred and dehumanization of women could be conceived by anyone who wasn’t seriously deranged. I’m not ordinarily upset by lurid or ghastly subjects, but the idea that this could be a popular book made me sick then, and still does.
*****A
Bateman didn’t just dehumanize women. Several of his victims were male. The book wasn’t particularly popular, because people didn’t understand that it was intended to be an extreme allegory for the sickness of the yuppie culture that developed during the Reagan years.
I understand why you found the book disturbing, so did I. I wonder why you kept reading the book when it upset you so much. To me it was extremely disturbing, yet a very powerful allegory for the ’80s culture.
I used Bateman as an example–perhaps you didn’t read the entire post or the example didn’t ring true for you?
No, I agree with your premise. Just had to get my visceral reaction to that awful book off my chest. As I said, I’m not squeamish. I kept reading out of sheer disbelief that someone who’d written anything so horrible was appearing on talk shows. Not to mention I hoped the protagnoist would be caught and punished. The scene with the nail gun and cutting out his girlfriend’s tongue? The misogyny completely overwhelmed me.
I agree there’ve been deliberate attempts through media to increase the level of selfishness in our culture. I noticed a distinct shift toward me-me-me advertising when “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” debuted. Moving the upper middle (voting) class from pensions to 401Ks was another part of a long range plan to vest us more in the global economy than in our own communities.
Isn’t Narcissism is no longer considered a mental disorder? Is that because it’s rife or because it applies mostly to men — or both?
*****A
BTW, interesting podcast on my local public radio station about a recent U.C. Berkeley study showing people in upper socio-economic class being measurably worse at empathy than poor folks.
*****A
That’s fascinating, and provides some support for my hypothesis about people with lots of money being detached and insulated from the effects of their behavior.
Brings to the surface of Robert Manning, and many people are pissed about him being in solitary (rightfully so) and hasn’t yet been convicted.
Where are they, when we have thousands and thousands of prisoners
experiencing torture in prison. Who are living in much worst conditions
that Manning, who are totally isolated with no family with no concern from a single person in the outside world.
They don’t seem to have empathy for those poor souls.
I am with you Adrienne. The selfishness that is exhibited in the media and tv is disgusting. I see much of these tendencies in a lot of these “reality” shows.
I think you are right about Narcissism is not a mental disorder. I remember something about that last year.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is currently considered a disorder. The new DSM-IV is supposed to combine it with other personality disorders in some way, but it will still be diagnosed.
Narcissim isn’t a disorder unless it becomes extreme. Some narcissism is healthy. All these behaviors run on a contimuum through the population.
There seems to me no question that Bernie Madoff is psychopathic. And Mark Sanford. Seems just plain obvious. Also Michael Vick, while we’re on the subject – although lots of people are insisting Vick has changed, even President Obama congratulated him on being picked up by the Eagles, at the least implying he’s recovered and redeemed himself from the horrendous things he did to animals. Michael Vick is not changed, he’s just doing what psychopaths do: fooling people. Including, apparently, President Obama.
And that’s an essential element of the psychopath that one has to keep in mind: all the time and effort that normal thinking people put into wondering what to do, what’s right or wrong, or feeling guilt or shame or remorse or compassion or concern, doesn’t occur to a psychopath, so they spend that time and effort plotting their schemes and honing their skill at charming and fooling people.
Yep. I don’t know that much about Michael Vick, but at least he did pay a price for what he did.
I also think CWaltz is probably right that many politicians aren’t true psychopaths–they just enable others. Nevertheless, they are in position where it is so easy to be corrupted.
Maybe it’s me, but I can’t imagine being able to live with myself if I voted for some of the things our Congresspeople have voted for and took money from lobbyists to screw ordinary people and give more money to corporations. I simply couldn’t do it.
I think it would be so interesting to do a case study and send some sincere person into politics and see what happens to them. Because we’ve all known Mr. Smith types who go into politics at whatever level, and within a very short time they’ve all but given up, they’re saying it’s impossible to achieve anything and everyone’s the same, and using that as an excuse to sell out and cash in on all these perks–despite being in the rare position where they are actually able to effect change. Is it because they’re influenced by the sociopaths around them and the culture they create? How does one go from empathetic to materialistic and manipulative and indifferent? Great post!
Thanks, it’s good to see you!
Tell you BB, what price was that he paid. He gets to be a role model for kids, and represents ASPCA, and a thank you card from Obama that reads “second chance”. Every knows that most of the serial killer had violent tendencies to kill pets.
What about the price of Scott Sisters paid, for $11.00, and 20 to life sentencing. Not to mention that Arnold Schwarznegger commuted the sentence of his ex-speaker’s son, Fabian Numez, who’s son pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter, and 2 counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and
stabbed to death a student at San Diego University.
The system is corrupt, and nothing like playing favorites to those who commit far worst crimes than some people are doing. Mississippi is taking a hard hit
over the Scott Sisters, and California isn’t any damn better.
You nailed it Zal………….what do they think he was given rehab in prison? Don’t exist. Did he go to his parole agent for therapy? He doesn’t have the time with his ever increasing caseloads. Where exactly did he get his counseling. He lost millions, so I am wondering who paid for it? How in the hell was he cured, NFL?, We can’t cure the other thousands, and thousands who are waiting for a second chance from the Salvation Army. We can’t cure the unhealthy schools in this
country, and they are also the cause of what is bad in this country, and why our kids are going in and out of prisons.
Absolutely agree, Fannie.
The notion that Michael Vick has been rehabilitated, or even that he’s served his time and been properly punished so deserves a second chance, is chilling to me. Psychopaths who do time don’t come out of prison with more empathy than they went in with. He’s a con man with a well paid PR team, and people are believing him. Second chance, my foot: they’re giving him a ticket to abuse people and animals and get away with it; the more power he has, the better positioned he’ll be to cover his behavior.
Our society is not only producing more psychopaths, the way people forgive the attractive psychopath (the ones who are good looking, charming, rich, successful, any of the superficial markers that people are so easily taken in by), I believe enables and strengthens psychopaths so they can move on to another victim and another and another and another.
Saw this on tv earlier this morning – current law generally treats pets as property worth only a small fixed amount
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-animal-law-20110102,0,4379481.story
Lots of the characteristics on that list could apply to Assange, what do you think BB? Lots of power preachers seem to follow along those lines too…
I’m still of the opinion Assange has some form of Aspberger’s but then, my background in developmental psychology is that of a teacher trained to know something is wrong with students so that we can hand them over to the professionals for diagnosis and treatment.
I agree that Assange has some Aspberger-ish traits, and I don’t for a minute think he’s a psychopath. Btw, some of Assange’s detractors have used a few offhand remarks by his son to paint Assange as a hopeless narcisist or far worse, but an interview with the son paints a very different picture of the man:
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/09/17/daniel-assange-i-never-thought-wikileaks-would-succeed/
Not that his son’s opinion is probative of anything, but I did find the interview very interesting.
I agree with dakinikat. Assange has “described himself, only partly in jest, as ‘somewhere on the autistic spectrum'”. His odd pedantic overly-formal speaking style, obsessive work with computers, etc. all fit. That’s also true of his occasional social/interpersonal cluelessness – managing to irritate people and with a reputation of being “difficult” to work with and often unreasonably stubborn. These are all typical of people with Asperger’s, who often characteristically display inadequate theory of mind (i.e. understanding others). It’s not typical of psychopaths. These characteristics also can make Assange an unsympathetic figure (that some people will respond very negatively to). I do think that he sometimes displays too much ego and a degree of narcissism – and I don’t like that. But I’ve dealt with a lot of psychopaths and clinical NPDs (for one thing – I used to do volunteer work for rehab of prisoners) and I’ve known a handful of people diagnosed with Asperger’s (my best friend is one – she can be quite good in interviews/social functions/”theater”, but difficult as hell one-on-one). And I think Assange actually does fall somewhere on the autistic spectrum. Just my two cents.
I agree. Dakinikat and I have been talking about this. Assange has always been a loner, seems awkward in social situations, but is very bright and has always been fascinated by computers.
I think Assange is very narcissistic, but probably not a psychopath. But of course none of us knows enough about him to determine that. Pat Robertson? I think he’s a psychopath. Just look at his investments in third world countries.
Here’s an interesting link … brush up on your French or you’ll have to babel fish it
From LeMonde: Assange named Man of the Year
Julian Assange, homme de l’année pour “Le Monde”
Roughly translates as this:
Tall, slim, and elegant Julian Assange, founder and owner of Wikileaks, impresses interviewers as a talented orator with a deep voice and one who knows how to handle questions with rigor, humor, emotion, but also sarcasm. Watching him work, we discover a gifted professional, ultra-efficient: as soon as he starts a project, he devotes himself totally night and day, until exhaustion.
and of course, Time gives it to a college student that creates Facebook so university students can show and tell every one when they need to go potty after beers.
Facing WikiLeaks Threat, Bank of America Plays Defense – NYTimes.com
heh … i just CAN’T wait …
Yea, he’s a kook, haven’t had any communications with one family member for years for calling him out as a damn kook.
Riveting! I know I’ve worked for a few sociopaths in my days. I believe I have one that lives next door to me. Some of these folks can skirt the system for some time. It’s truly frightening! I just love it when you write about things like this. I’m fascinated by people that just seem to systematically not get other people and live only to serve the deranged voices in their head. I’m certain it’s some trauma in childhood that does it, even if it’s just a trigger to a genetic predisposition. I’m wondering if our society engineers more of these monsters by the kinds of things we reward. Politics and fast lane business deals seem to have things built-in to their processes that almost demand a lack of empathy to others and a massive ego. They also demand type of risk taking that doesn’t seem normal either.
Thank you!!!
Thanks, Dak.
Speaking of psychopaths, I hope you don’t miss Sixty Minutes. They are doing a story right now about a whistle blower at Glaxo SmithKlein, who reported that dosages in drugs were being screwed up and actual drugs were being put in the wrong bottles and sold. She reported it, but the drug company executives let it go to save money.
Geez, no surprise there. What kind of drugs was it janicen?
They found human remains near our house today. About a half a mile away as the crow flies. There is speculation that it is Kristi Cornwell, a woman that was abducted a couple years ago. Sad Sad Sad…
In some cases, the diabetes drug, Avandia was put in Paxil bottles, and vice versa. In another case, 25 mg Paxil was put in bottles that should have been 10 mg Paxil. Anti-bacterial ointment was contaminated with bacteria, and there were myriad other contaminations and violations. This happened in the U.S.
Wow, Avandia in Paxil bottles, that is bad. I remember something about the bacteria in the anti-bacterial ointment. Thanks for letting me know.
oh, how horrible!!
The good news is that the whistleblower, who was fired for speaking up ended up getting 96 milion as her share of the settlement.
I posted a reply to you, MM, put I don’t see it? Did it go into moderation or is it lost in the ether?
it went to spam because of the names of multiple drugs that are associated with ads
Thanks!
Hey Dak, Robert J. Samuelson – Judging Obama's economics this just came out…
Ugh…looks like he is at it again.
I saw that! It was horrible. I think Dakinikat should take a look at that for another Pharma post.
I am right there with you on this Boston Boomer. The next steps for dealing with these narcissists and bullies and liars and cheats is to begin marginalizing them in our community and workplaces and politics. That will take a great deal of guts on the part of the individuals who have not only the ability to recognize the psychopath/malignant narcissist/sociopaths who get to where they are by their devious schmoozing and gamesmanship, but also the wherewithal to take them out. The biggest problem is that by the time everyone is suffering under the brunt of the socipathocracy, be it in business, small-town politics, or in the workplace, these monsters have been granted carte blanche and are virtually the ever-vigilant overseers of their personal sadoplantations, and most people are afraid of them because of the power they have.
One of the huge changes that needs to take place in the workplace that will also effectively root these bad seeds out and marginalize them, is to dispense with top-down management practices and implement labor-run plants and communities. When will humans get over their need to worship the best groomed baboon with the longest teeth? That foolish primate is one of you’se guys, only got a glossier coat by tricking people…
Great post, BB! Yes, indeed I believe we should explore this topic more and expose those who visit here to not only the basic info but help them use the information in a productive and positive way.
I look forward to your writing more on this topic.
Ditto that, these politicians have a great amount at stake to keep all of us dysfunctional. God forbid that they should examine their own lives.
“so many people are cold, callous, and calculating, seeking to amass as much money as possible at the expense of ordinary taxpayers.”
Spot on. {{shivers}}
Fascinating post. I’m commenting right after reading (before reading other comments) because I don’t want to lose this thought.
If we do accept that our leaders tend to be psychopaths (and I do) and if others come to do the same, I bet you, everything I own, that psychopathology will become the new ‘normal’. I bet you. What a horrible thing that would be.
Kindness, gentleness, giving, not being driven by money, will become the new pathology. Not that they aren’t already in some circles.
Sounds like “The Family” who considers the Jesus teachings a sideshow to the “big guy in the sky” blessed me with power and money cause he thinks I’m special!
Yea, that’s what I was thinking.
It’s like these people have the medieval feeling that they are King because God made them King, not because they got lucky in a game of chance.
It’s so hard to make people, even well intentioned people, look beyond their own environs and own experiences. That, in the end, might be the only thing that saves us. Getting people to be far sighted and not so self-centric.
The Family almost seems to have been formed for the purpose of enabling and rationalizing psychopathy.
ayup, agree with that to infinity and beyond!!
Enthralling post Boston – looking forward to more. I have no training in this field but I truly feel the influence of our media, worship of the shallow hollow beings that they do, the untreated cases of PTSD caused by constant pointless wars, extreme poverty, those brainless reality shows- all contribute to the narcissism that has ramped up 1000 fold in the last couple of decades. The numbers of our citizens who are treated as just a number, a being who is not worthy of respect are ever increasing. I can’t tell you how many wealthy people I have known over the years who actually say – God wants me to have more…it’s bizarre. With the selection of Bu$h, followed by the most blatant empty suit selection of BO – it’s all out in the open now. Of course it’s only of interest to people who take umbrage with this behavior.
The middle-class and below have been under attack for a long time – they are stressed and struggling. Many really do not have time to consider what is happening – they use their down time for their families and hope for the best. That’s another reason the theme ‘hope and change’ was so sickening.
Been interested in the so-called Dark Triad of personality traits: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, Psychopathy in trying to understand a colleague/nemesis who falls somewhere on that spectrum. Found this research paper on correlations between these three types based on various psychological tests given to subjects in the general population.
At the end, the researchers make this comment:
Sima, totally agree that ruthless is becoming the new normal. Heaven help those of us who refuse to “adapt” in that way.
*****A
I’ve seen those studies too. Thanks for journal article. I downloaded the PDF to read it later.
I don’t think there’s a better time for narcissists than the present….the age of Facebook, not only for feeding the notion of me-me-me, but that more of me is better. I find nothing wrong with Facebook per se. My dog is actually a member (as a surrogate for me)! But I see so many who get themselves a thousand friends with whom to taut their greed is good mentality. Look at me, look at me, what I can do, what I can be. This in turn elicits competion and even more greed. I can see it turning into something of a frenzy, especially with impressionable 20-somethings.
Of course, this doesn’t spur the psychopathic narcissists, only the Reaganesque kind.
I guess it goes without saying that these diagnostic categories, antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders, are largely populated by men. The Reagan era was a huge backlash against the gains made by women and an attempt to push us back to the 1950s, as well as a major repudiation of any social responsibility towards the poor and less fortunate in society.
Anyway, rip away at me if you want to. I am getting used to being beaten up on this site for even the most innocuous observations if they touch on “gender.”
Here’s an interesting tidbit on NPD:
Read more: Narcissistic personality disorder – children, define, causes, DSM, functioning, effects, therapy, adults, person, people, used, medication, theory, women, health, traits, mood, Definition, Description http://www.minddisorders.com/Kau-Nu/Narcissistic-personality-disorder.html#ixzz19wlnPS3M
But, low and behold, there’s a whole lot of things in the Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders on the problem and they don’t just filter out everything else and focus on gender.
I don’t know about female narcissists being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, but I do know that the core of BPD is severe difficulties with emotional regulation. If they don’t have that, they don’t have BPD. A lot of people are co-diagnosed with more than one PD.
I’d be thinking when it comes to women it’s about defining them in regards to
control, and their choices, and lack of respect.
OMG, I read that article and the one on BPD in the Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders and I am not impressed with the Encyclopedia. The one on BPD focuses on black and white thinking as the central feature of the disorder, but it is only one of nine possible criteria and doesn’t have to be present at all in order for the disorder to be diagnosed. The one on NPD uses outmoded terminology, referring to the personality disorders as “character disorders”. I have read a lot better on the subject.
Do you mean sick or evil? Is there a difference? It is very confusing the way those two concepts are fused together.
interesting post, bb. i have a family member who i believe is sociopathic and caused great harm. she would charm the pants off the staff at hospitals, social workers especially. she really only had one card, but played it repeatedly, and i was always amazed at the people who fell for her act. she’s not smart, hence only one card, but she developed cunning and manipulation as her talents. victimized my parents, esp my mother. evil. and thriving. scary. i am a scientist and i just want to voice the unscientific opinion that i don’t think she is the result of nature or nurture. i came out of that same womb and i grew up in that same house and i share nothing with that abomination.