Andrew Lobaczewski - Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes

as a Tool for the Moral Philosopher (1955), he demonstrated the ways in

which game theory could be used to arrive at moral choices and ethical deci-

sions. His classic work was Scientific Explanation: A Study of Theory, Prob-

ability and Law in Science (1953), on the methodology of natural science.

[Editor's note.]

28 G. Sommerhoff, Analytical Biology (O.U.P., 1950). [Editor’s note.]

88

THE HYSTEROIDAL CYCLE

When bad times arrive and people are overwhelmed by an

excess of evil, they must gather all their physical and mental

strength to fight for existence and protect human reason. The

search for some way out of the difficulties and dangers rekin-

dles long-buried powers of discretion. Such people have the

initial tendency to rely on force in order to counteract the

threat; they may, for instance, become “trigger-happy” or de-

pendent upon armies.

Slowly and laboriously, however, they discover the advan-

tages conferred by mental effort; improved understanding of

the psychological situation in particular, better differentiation

of human characters and personalities, and, finally, comprehen-

sion of one’s adversaries. During such times, virtues which

former generations relegated to literary motifs regain their real

and useful substance and become prized for their value. A wise

person capable of furnishing sound advice is highly respected.

How astonishingly similar were the philosophies of Socra-

tes and Confucius, those half-legendary thinkers who, albeit

near-contemporaries, resided at opposite ends of the great con-

tinent. Both lived during evil, bloody times and adumbrated a

method for conquering evil, especially regarding perception of

the laws of life and knowledge of human nature. They searched

for criteria of moral values within human nature and considered

knowledge and understanding to be virtues. Both men, how-

ever, heard the same wordless internal Voice warning those

embarking upon important moral questions: “Socrates, do not

do this”. That is why their efforts and sacrifices constitute per-

manent assistance in the battle against evil.

Difficult and laborious times give rise to values which fi-

nally conquer evil and produce better times. The succinct and

accurate analysis of phenomena, made possible thanks to the

conquest of the expendable emotions and egotism characteriz-

ing self-satisfied people, opens the door to causative behavior,

particularly in the areas of philosophical, psychological, and

moral reflection; this tips the scale to the advantage of good-

ness. If these values were totally incorporated into human-

kind’s cultural heritage, they could sufficiently protect nations

from the next era of errors and distortions. However, the col-

lective memory is impermanent and particularly liable to re-

POLITICAL PONEROLOGY

89

move a philosopher and his work from his context, namely his

time and place and the goals which he served.

Whenever an experienced person finds a moment of relative

peace after a difficult and painful effort, his mind is free to

reflect unencumbered by the expendable emotions and outdated

attitudes of the past, but aided by the cognizance of bygone

years. He thus comes closer to an objective understanding of

phenomena and a view of actual causative links, including such

links which cannot be understood within the framework of

natural language. He thus meditates upon an ever-expanding

circle of general laws while contemplating the meaning of

those former occurrences which separated the periods of his-

tory. We reach for ancient precepts because we understand

them better; they make it easier for us to understand both the

genesis and the creative meaning of unhappy times.

The cycle of happy, peaceful times favors a narrowing of

the world view and an increase in egotism; societies become

subject to progressive hysteria and to that final stage, descrip-

tively known to historians, which finally produces times of

despondency and confusion, that have lasted for millennia and

continue to do so. The recession of mind and personality which

is a feature of ostensibly happy times varies from one nation to

another; thus some countries manage to survive the results of

such crises with minor losses, whereas others lose nations and

empires. Geopolitical factors have also played a decisive role.

The psychological features of such crises doubtless bear the

stamp of the time and of the civilization in question, but one

common denominator must have been an exacerbation of soci-

ety’s hysterical condition. This deviation or, better yet, forma-

tive deficiency of character, is a perennial sickness of societies,

especially the privileged elites. The existence of exaggerated

individual cases, especially such characterized as clinical, is an

offshoot of the level of social hysteria, quite frequently corre-

lated with some additional causes such as carriers of minor

lesions of brain tissue. Quantitatively and qualitatively, these

individuals may serve to reveal and evaluate such times, as

indicated in history’s Book of San Michele 29. From the perspec-

29 Axel Munthe, (1857-1949) physician, psychiatrist, and writer, was born in

Oskarshamn, Sweden. He was educated at the University of Uppsala and at

90

THE HYSTEROIDAL CYCLE

tive of historical time, it would be harder to examine the re-

gression of the ability and correctness of reasoning or the in-

tensity of “Austrian talk”, although these approximate the crux

of the matter better and more directly.

In spite of above-mentioned qualitative differences, the du-

ration of these time-cycles tends to be similar. If we assume

that the extreme of European hysteria occurred around 1900

and returns not quite every two centuries, we find similar con-

ditions. Such cyclical isochronicity may embrace a civilization

and cross into neighboring countries, but it would not swim

oceans or penetrate into faraway and far different civilizations.

When the First World War broke out, young officers danced

and sang on the streets of Vienna: “ Krieg, Krieg, Krieg! Es

wird ein schoener Krieg ...”. While visiting Upper Austria in

1978, I decided to drop in on the local parson, who was in his

seventies by then. When I told him about myself, I suddenly

realized he thought I was lying and inventing pretty stories. He

subjected my statements to psychological analysis, based on

this unassailable assumption and attempted to convince me that

his morals were lofty. When I complained to a friend of mine

about this, he was amused: “As a psychologist, you were ex-

tremely lucky to catch the survival of authentic Austrian talk

( die oesterreichische Rede ). We young ones have been incapa-

ble of demonstrating it to you even if we wanted to simulate

it.”

In the European languages, “Austrian talk” has become the

common descriptive term for paralogistic30 discourse. Many

people using this term nowadays are unaware of its origin.

Within the context of maximum hysterical intensity in Europe

Montpellier in Paris where he received his M.D. He studied the work of the

French neurologist Jean Martin Charcot and used hypnosis in his own work

with the physical and psychological symptoms of his patients. He later be-

came physician to the Swedish Royal family. He became known as “the

modern St. Francis of Assissi” because he financed sanctuaries for birds. As a

writer Munthe recounted his own experiences as a physician and psychiatrist.

He is most famous for the autobiographical work The Story of San Michele

which was published in 1929. [Editor’s note.]

30 Paralogism : n. illogical or fallacious deduction. paralogical, paralogistic, a.

paralogize, v.i. be illogical; draw unwarranted conclusions. paralogist, n.

[Editor’s note.]

POLITICAL PONEROLOGY

91

at the time, the authentic article represented a typical product of

conversive thinking: subconscious selection and substitution of

data leading to chronic avoidance of the crux of the matter. In

the same manner, the reflex assumption that every speaker is

lying is an indication of the hysterical anti-culture of mendac-

ity, within which telling the truth becomes “immoral”.

That era of hysterical regression gave birth to the great war

and the great revolution which extended into Fascism, Hitler-

ism, and the tragedy of the Second World War. It also pro-

duced the macrosocial phenomenon whose deviant character

became superimposed upon this cycle, screening and destroy-

ing its nature. Contemporary Europe is heading for the opposite

extreme of this historical sine curve. We could thus assume that

the beginning of the next century will produce an era of opti-

mal capability and correctness of reason, thus leading to many

new values in all realms of human discovery and creativity. We

can also foresee that realistic psychological understanding and

spiritual enrichment will be features of this era.

At the same time, America, especially the U.S.A., has

reached a nadir for the first time in its short history. Grey-

haired Europeans living in the U.S. today are struck by the

similarity between these phenomena and the ones dominating

Europe at the times of their youth. The emotionalism dominat-

ing individual, collective and political life, as well as the sub-

conscious selection and substitution of data in reasoning, are

impoverishing the development of a psychological world view

and leading to individual and national egotism. The mania for

taking offense at the drop of a hat provokes constant retaliation,

taking advantage of hyper-irritability and hypo-criticality on

the part of others.31 This can be considered analogous to the

European dueling mania of those times. People fortunate

enough to achieve a position higher than someone else are con-

temptuous of their supposed inferiors in a way highly reminis-

cent of czarist Russian customs. Turn-of-the-century Freudian

psychology finds fertile soil in this country because of the simi-

larity in social and psychological conditions.

America’s psychological recession drags in its wake an im-

paired socio-professional adaptation of this country’s people,

31 The litigious nature of Americans is known the world over. [Editor’s note.]

92

THE HYSTEROIDAL CYCLE

leading to a waste of human talent and an involution of societal

structure. If we were to calculate this country’s adaptation cor-

relation index, as suggested in the prior chapter, it would

probably be lower than the great majority of the free and civi-

lized nations of this world, and possibly lower than some coun-

tries which have lost their freedom.

A highly talented individual in the USA finds it ever more

difficult to fight his way through to self-realization and a so-

cially creative position. Universities, politics, and businesses

ever more frequently demonstrate a united front of relatively

untalented persons and even incompetent persons. The word