Andrew Lobaczewski - Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes
- Название:Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes
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- Издательство:неизвестно
- Год:2006
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Since the beginning of time, this mystery of the estate of man,
this Curse of Cain has existed. And, since the Ancient of Days,
the cry has been: My punishment is greater than I can bear!
It is conjectured that, in ancient times, when man perceived
this intolerable and incomprehensible condition in which he
10
EDITOR’S PREFACE
found his existence, that he created cosmogonies to justify all
the cruelties, aberrations, and tragedies of history. It is true
that, man, as a rule and in general, is powerless against cosmic
and geological catastrophes, and it has long been said that the
average man can’t really do anything about military onslaughts,
social injustice, personal and familial misfortunes, and a host of
assaults against his existence too numerous to list.
This is about to change. The book you hold in your hand is
going to give you answers to many of the questions about Evil
in our world. This book is not just about macrosocial evil, it is
also about everyday evil, because, in a very real sense, the two
are inseparable. The long term accumulation of everyday evil
always and inevitably leads to Grand Systemic Evil that de-
stroys more innocent people than any other phenomenon on
this planet.
The book you hold in your hands is also a survival guide.
As I said above, this book will be the most important book you
will ever read. Unless, of course, you are a psychopath.
“What does psychopathy have to do with personal or social
evil?” you may ask.
Absolutely everything. Whether you know it or not, each
and every day your life is touched by the effects of psychopa-
thy on our world. You are about to learn that even if there isn’t
much we can do about geological and cosmological catastro-
phe, there is a lot we can do about social and macrosocial evil,
and the very first thing to do is to learn about it. In the case of
psychopathy and its effects on our world, what you don’t know
definitely can and will hurt you.
Nowadays the word “psychopath” generally evokes images
of the barely restrained - yet surprisingly urbane - mad-dog
serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, of Silence of the Lambs fame.
I will admit that this was the image that came to my mind
whenever I heard the word; almost, that is. The big difference
was that I never thought of a psychopath as possibly being so
cultured or so capable of passing as “normal”. But I was
wrong, and I was to learn this lesson quite painfully by direct
experience. The exact details are chronicled elsewhere; what is
important is that this experience was probably one of the most
painful and instructive episodes of my life, and it enabled me to
POLITICAL PONEROLOGY
11
overcome a block in my awareness of the world around me and
those who inhabit it.
Regarding blocks to awareness, I need to state for the record
that I have spent 30 years studying psychology, history, cul-
ture, religion, myth and the so-called paranormal1. I also have
worked for many years with hypnotherapy - which gave me a
very good mechanical knowledge of how the mind/brain of the
human being operates at very deep levels. But even so, I was
still operating with certain beliefs firmly in place that were
shattered by my research into psychopathy. I realized that there
was a certain set of ideas that I held about human beings that
were sacrosanct – and false. I even wrote about this once in the
following way:
…my work has shown me that the vast majority of people
want to do good, to experience good things, think good
thoughts, and make decisions with good results. And they try
with all their might to do so! With the majority of people hav-
ing this internal desire, why the Hell isn't it happening?
I was naïve, I admit. There were many things I did not know
that I have learned since I penned those words. But even at that
time I was aware of how our own minds can be used to deceive
us.
Now, what beliefs did I hold that made me a victim of a
psychopath? The first and most obvious one is that I truly be-
lieved that deep inside, all people are basically “good” and that
they “want to do good, to experience good things, think good
thoughts, and make decisions with good results. And they try
with all their might to do so….”
As it happens, this is not true as I - and everyone involved
in our research group - learned to our sorrow, as they say. But
we also learned to our edification. In order to come to some
understanding of exactly what kind of human being could do
the things that were done to me (and others close to me), and
why they might be motivated - even driven - to behave this
way, we began to research the psychology literature for clues
because we needed to understand for our own peace of mind.
1 I have never received any academic degrees, so I am not a “professional”, in
that respect.
12
EDITOR’S PREFACE
If there is a psychological theory that can explain vicious
and harmful behavior, it helps very much for the victim of such
acts to have this information so that they do not have to spend
all their time feeling hurt or angry. And certainly, if there is a
psychological theory that helps a person to find what kind of
words or deeds can bridge the chasm between people, to heal
misunderstandings, that is also a worthy goal. It was from such
a perspective that we began our extensive work on the subjects
of narcissism, which then led to the study of psychopathy.
Of course, we didn’t start out with such any such “diagno-
sis” or label for what we were witnessing. We started out with
observations and searched the literature for clues, for profiles,
for anything that would help us to understand the inner world
of a human being - actually a group of human beings - who
seemed to be utterly depraved and unlike anything we had ever
encountered before. We found that this kind of human is all too
common, and that, according to some of the latest research,
they cause more damage in human society than any other sin-
gle so-called “mental illness”. Martha Stout, who has worked
extensively with victims of psychopaths, writes:
Imagine - if you can - not having a conscience, none at all,
no feelings of guilt or remorse no matter what you do, no lim-
iting sense of concern for the well-being of strangers, friends,
or even family members. Imagine no struggles with shame,
not a single one in your whole life, no matter what kind of
selfish, lazy, harmful, or immoral action you had taken.
And pretend that the concept of responsibility is unknown
to you, except as a burden others seem to accept without ques-
tion, like gullible fool.
Now add to this strange fantasy the ability to conceal from
other people that your psychological makeup is radically dif-
ferent from theirs. Since everyone simply assumes that con-
science is universal among human beings, hiding the fact that
you are conscience-free is nearly effortless.
You are not held back from any of your desires by guilt or
shame, and you are never confronted by others for your cold-
bloodedness. The ice water in your veins is so bizarre, so
completely outside of their personal experience, that they sel-
dom even guess at your condition.
POLITICAL PONEROLOGY
13
In other words, you are completely free of internal re-
straints, and your unhampered liberty to do just as you please,
with no pangs of conscience, is conveniently invisible to the
world.
You can do anything at all, and still your strange advan-
tage over the majority of people, who are kept in line by their
consciences will most likely remain undiscovered.
How will you live your life?
What will you do with your huge and secret advantage,
and with the corresponding handicap of other people (con-
science)?
The answer will depend largely on just what your desires
happen to be, because people are not all the same. Even the
profoundly unscrupulous are not all the same. Some people -
whether they have a conscience or not - favor the ease of iner-
tia, while others are filled with dreams and wild ambitions.
Some human beings are brilliant and talented, some are dull-
witted, and most, conscience or not, are somewhere in be-
tween. There are violent people and nonviolent ones, indi-
viduals who are motivated by blood lust and those who have
no such appetites. [...]
Provided you are not forcibly stopped, you can do any-
thing at all.
If you are born at the right time, with some access to fam-
ily fortune, and you have a special talent for whipping up
other people's hatred and sense of deprivation, you can arrange
to kill large numbers of unsuspecting people. With enough
money, you can accomplish this from far away, and you can
sit back safely and watch in satisfaction. [...]
Crazy and frightening - and real, in about 4 percent of the
population....
The prevalence rate for anorexic eating disorders is esti-
mated a 3.43 percent, deemed to be nearly epidemic, and yet
this figure is a fraction lower than the rate for antisocial per-
sonality. The high-profile disorders classed as schizophrenia
occur in only about 1 percent of [the population] - a mere
quarter of the rate of antisocial personality - and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention say that the rate of colon
cancer in the United States, considered “alarmingly high,” is
14
EDITOR’S PREFACE
about 40 per 100,000 - one hundred times lower than the rate
of antisocial personality.
The high incidence of sociopathy in human society has a
profound effect on the rest of us who must live on this planet,
too, even those of us who have not been clinically trauma-
tized. The individuals who constitute this 4 percent drain our
relationships, our bank accounts, our accomplishments, our
self-esteem, our very peace on earth.
Yet surprisingly, many people know nothing about this
disorder, or if they do, they think only in terms of violent psy-
chopathy - murderers, serial killers, mass murderers - people
who have conspicuously broken the law many times over, and
who, if caught, will be imprisoned, maybe even put to death
by our legal system.
We are not commonly aware of, nor do we usually iden-
tify, the larger number of nonviolent sociopaths among us,
people who often are not blatant lawbreakers, and against
whom our formal legal system provides little defense.
Most of us would not imagine any correspondence be-
tween conceiving an ethnic genocide and, say, guiltlessly ly-
ing to one's boss about a coworker. But the psychological cor-
respondence is not only there; it is chilling. Simple and pro-
found, the link is the absence of the inner mechanism that
beats up on us, emotionally speaking, when we make a choice
we view as immoral, unethical, neglectful, or selfish.
Most of us feel mildly guilty if we eat the last piece of
cake in the kitchen, let alone what we would feel if we inten-
tionally and methodically set about to hurt another person.
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