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

and its own pathodynamics and symptomatics which distin-

guish its nature. Various delusional systems can become mani-

fest within the same disease, and similar systems can appear in

various diseases. The delusions, which have sometimes become

so systemic that they convey the impression of an actual story,

originate in the patient’s nature and intelligence, especially in

the imaginations of the environment within which he grew up.

These can be disease-induced caricaturizations of his former

political and social convictions. After all, every mental illness

has its particular style of deforming human minds, producing

nuanced but characteristic differences known for some time to

psychiatrists, and which help them render a diagnosis.

Thus deformed, the world of former fantasies is put to work

for a different purpose: concealing the dramatic state of the

disease from one’s own consciousness and from public opinion

for as long as possible. An experienced psychiatrist does not

attempt premature disillusionment of such a delusional system;

that would provoke the patient’s suicidal tendencies. The doc-

tor’s main object of interest remains the disease he is trying to

cure. There is usually insufficient time to discuss a patient’s

delusions with him unless it becomes necessary for reasons of

the safety of said patient and other people. Once the disease has

been cured, however, psychotherapeutic assistance in reinte-

grating the patient into the world of normal thought is defi-

nitely indicated.

If we effect a sufficiently penetrating analysis of the phe-

nomenon of pathocracy and its relationship to its ideology, we

are faced with a clear analogy to the above described relation-

POLITICAL PONEROLOGY

203

ship now familiar to all psychiatrists. Some differences will

appear later in the form of details and statistical data, which

can be interpreted both as a function of the above-mentioned

characteristic style of caricaturizing an ideology, pathocracy

effects, and as a result of the macrosocial character of the phe-

nomenon.

As a counterpart of disease, pathocracy has its own etiologi-

cal factors which make it potentially present in every society,

no matter how healthy. It also has its own pathodynamic proc-

esses which are differentiated as a function of whether the

pathocracy in question was born in that particular country

(primary pathocracy), was artificially infected in the country by

some other system of the kind, or was imposed by force.

We have already sketched above the ponerogenesis and

course of such a macrosocial phenomenon in its primary form,

intentionally refraining from mentioning any particular ideol-

ogy. We shall soon address the other two courses mentioned

above.

The ideology of pathocracy is created by caricaturizing the

original ideology of a social movement in a manner character-

istic of that particular pathological phenomenon. The above-

mentioned hysteroidal states of societies also deform the con-

temporary ideologies of the times in question, using a style

characteristic for them. Just as doctors are interested in disease,

the author has become primarily interested in the pathocratic

phenomenon and the analysis thereof. In a similar manner, the

primary concern of those people who have assumed responsi-

bility for the fate of nations should be curing the world of this

heretofore mysterious disease. The proper time will come for

critical and analytical attitudes toward ideologies which have

become the “delusional systems” of such phenomena during

historical times. We should at present focus our attention upon

the very essence of the macrosocial pathological phenomena.

Understanding the nature of a disease is basic to any search

for the proper methods of treatment. The same applies by anal-

ogy with regard to that macrosocial pathological phenomenon,

especially since, in the latter case, mere understanding of the

nature of the disease starts curing human minds and souls .

Throughout the entire process, reasoning approximated to the

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PATHOCRACY

style elaborated by medicine is the proper method which leads

to untangling the contemporary Gordian knot.

A pathocracy’s ideology changes its function, just as occurs

with a mentally ill person’s delusional system. It stops being a

human conviction outlining methods of action and takes on

other duties which are not openly defined. It becomes a dis-

guising story concealing the new reality from people’s critical

consciousness, both inside and outside one’s nation. The first

function – a conviction outlining methods of action - soon be-

comes ineffective for two reasons: on the one hand, reality

exposes the methods of action as unworkable; on the other

hand, the masses of common people notice the contemptuous

attitude toward the ideology represented by the pathocrats

themselves. For that reason, the main operational theater for the

ideology consists of nations remaining outside the immediate

ambit of the pathocracy, since that world tends to continue

believing in ideologies. The ideology thus becomes the instru-

ment for external action to a degree even greater than in the

above-mentioned relationship between the disease and its delu-

sional system.

Psychopaths are conscious of being different from normal

people. That is why the “political system” inspired by their

nature is able to conceal this awareness of being different. They

wear a personal mask of sanity and know how to create a mac-

rosocial mask of the same dissimulating nature. When we ob-

serve the role of ideology in this macrosocial phenomenon,

quite conscious of the existence of this specific awareness of

the psychopath, we can then understand why ideology is rele-

gated to a tool-like role: something useful in dealing with those

other naive people and nations. Pathocrats must nevertheless

appreciate the function of ideology as being something essen-

tial in any ponerogenic group, especially in the macrosocial

phenomenon which is their “homeland”. This factor of aware-

ness simultaneously constitutes a certain qualitative difference

between the two above-mentioned relationships. Pathocrats

know that their real ideology is derived from their deviant na-

tures, and treat the “other” – the masking ideology - with

barely concealed contempt. And the common people eventually

begin to perceive this as noted above.

POLITICAL PONEROLOGY

205

Thus, a well-developed pathocratic system no longer has a

clear and direct relationship to its original ideology, which it

only keeps as its primary, traditional tool for action and mask-

ing. For practical purposes of pathocratic expansion, other ide-

ologies may be useful, even if they contradict the main one and

heap moral denunciation upon it. However, these other ideolo-

gies must be used with care, refraining from official acknow-

ledgement within environments wherein the original ideology

can be made to appear too foreign, discredited, and useless.

The main ideology succumbs to symptomatic deformation,

in keeping with the characteristic style of this very disease and

with what has already been stated about the matter. The names

and official contents are kept, but another, completely different

content is insinuated underneath, thus giving rise to the well

known double talk phenomenon within which the same names

have two meanings: one for initiates, one for everyone else.

The latter is derived from the original ideology; the former has

a specifically pathocratic meaning, something which is known

not only to the pathocrats themselves, but also is learned by

those people living under long-term subjection to their rule.

Doubletalk is only one of many symptoms. Others are the

specific facility for producing new names which have sugges-

tive effects and are accepted virtually uncritically, in particular

outside the immediate scope of such a system’s rule.96 We must

thus point out the paramoralistic character and paranoidal

qualities frequently contained within these names. The action

of paralogisms and paramoralisms in this deformed ideology

becomes comprehensible to us based on the information pre-

sented in Chapter IV. Anything which threatens pathocratic

rule becomes deeply immoral. 97This also applies to the concept

of forgiving the pathocrats themselves; it is extremely danger-

ous and thus “immoral”.

We thus have the right to invent appropriate names which

would indicate the nature of the phenomena as accurately as

96 “Extraordinary rendition” as the nomenclature for illegally transporting

prisoners to countries where torture is practiced comes immediately to mind

as an example. [Editor’s note.]

97 Example: “You are with us, or you are against us.” And being “against us”

means that “you are a terrorist” and thus, immoral. [Editor’s note.]

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PATHOCRACY

possible, in keeping with our recognition and respect for the

laws of the scientific methodology and semantics. Such accu-

rate terms will also serve to protect our minds from the sugges-

tive effects of those other names and paralogisms, including the

pathological material the latter contain.

The Expansion of the Pathocracy

The world’s tendency to fasten its gaze adoringly upon its

rulers has a long tradition dating back to the times when sover-

eigns could virtually ignore their subjects’ opinions. However,

rulers have always been dependent upon the social and eco-

nomic situation in their country, even long ago, and even in

pathocratic systems, and the influence of various social groups

has reached their thrones by various means.

Much too common is the pattern of error which reasons that

purportedly autocratic leaders of countries affected by this

pathocracy actually possess decision-making powers in areas

which they in fact do not. Millions of people, including minis-

ters and members of parliaments, ponder the dilemma of

whether such a ruler could not, under certain circumstances,

modify his convictions somewhat and relinquish his dreams of

conquering the world; they continue hope that this will be the

eventual outcome.98 People with personal experience in such a

system may attempt to persuade them that their dreams, al-

though decent, lack a foundation in reality, but at the same time

they sense a lack of concrete arguments on their part. Such an

explanation is in fact impossible within the realm of the natural

language of psychological concepts; only an objective compre-

hension of the historical phenomenon and its essentially devi-

ant nature permits light to be shed upon the causes of the per-

ennial deceitfulness of this macrosocial pathological phenome-

non.

98 This is especially true in the present day when the leaders and parliaments

of many other countries, unhappy with the Bush Neocon administration,