PATHOCRACY
When people with mental disorders come to power
Psychology Hour
Dr. Leli
Pathocracy describes a system of government developed by a small group of people with pathological problems, who control a normal society in order to manipulate it. These are situations in which people with mental disorders – especially psychopathy – occupy positions of power voluntarily or involuntarily or chosen specifically on the basis of these criteria. The analysis of this phenomenon started from Lobaczewski, who spent his life studying behavior that highlights human evil, a field called ponerology. His goal was to understand why bad, immoral, unscrupulous people, without empathy, often succeed, while good and moral people have difficulty achieving their goals. He also wanted to understand why people with mental disorders manage to reach positions of power so easily, governing entire countries. He risked a great deal during his experiments and studies, was arrested and tortured by the Polish authorities, and his major work “Political Ponerology” was not published until he emigrated to the United States in the 1980s.
Therefore, the phenomenon studied by Lobaczewski, pathocracy is, without a doubt, one of the greatest problems of humanity. History has always been the theater of perpetual conflict and violence, with groups of people fighting for territories, power and possessions, killing and conquering each other. In fact, it is not human nature to be predominantly brutal and cruel, but it often happens that a low percentage of people with mental disorders manage to seize power, influence or control the population to commit atrocities on their behalf. Personality disorders, common in such cases are narcissism and psychopathy. People with such behaviors feel an insatiable need for power, constantly wanting attention and confirmation. They feel that they are superior to others and have the right to dominate. They also have a strong lack of empathy, which means that they are able to abuse their desire for power, attention and flattery. In short, the need to be considered superior is their main characteristic and they are reluctant to do anything that lowers their popularity. On the other hand, people with strong empathy and compassion are not interested in power. They can even be rejected in such positions because they want to do good things for their peers and consider that not being interested in others is a negative aspect, which for a non-empathetic person is only a positive part. Obviously, this means that positions of power remain accessible to people with a high level of ambition and without scruples. In the history of mankind, in many cases people with pathological problems have reached the peak of power. A very good example is that of Hitler. Democratic institutions and principles have been introduced to limit the power of such people with mental disorders. That is why leaders with pathological problems hate democracy. Once in power, they will make it possible to dismantle or discredit democratic institutions, including freedom of expression. These were the first things Hitler did when he became German Chancellor. Moreover, leaders with these disorders are totally unable to understand the principles of democracy because they consider themselves superior to others and want to dominate others.
But pathocracy is not just about the individual. What Lobaczewski specified is that leaders with pathological problems always attract other people who have personality disorders and who take advantage of the situation to gain a role of influence. At the same time, those who have a good morale, empathy and mind are gradually eliminated. They are so ostracized that they isolate themselves voluntarily, disturbed by the growing pathology around them. This does not mean that anyone who becomes part of a governmental pathocracy suffers from personality disorders. Some people may simply be very ambitious and lack empathy without being diagnosed with a disorder, while others may go along with a pathocratic leader whose goals coincide with their own. An important part of the problem is that many people are attracted to charismatic demagogues, despite obvious flaws such as extreme narcissism, lack of empathy and distorted view of reality due to personality disorder. Psychologically, it is something similar to the attraction for a spiritual guru, who surrounds himself with devoted disciples despite his behavior to take advantage. The attraction for gurus and demagogues is a well-rooted impulse, it is a return to the state of childhood in which parents are revered, because they seem omnipotent, infallible, taking full responsibility for children’s lives and solving any problem in a magical way.
Although psychologists should not make an unofficial diagnosis of public figures, many American psychologists and psychiatrists have publicly stated that Donald Trump shows all the signs of a narcissistic personality disorder. This certainly explains his greatness, lack of empathy and moral principles, excessive need for admiration and his sensitivity to criticism (all being traits of narcissistic personality disorder).
In a long-term vision, strict measures are needed to limit the access to power of these people. Simply put, these types of people who want more power should not have the opportunity to have a position of authority. All potential leaders (or members of a government) should be rigorously evaluated by psychologists to determine their level of empathy, narcissism, or psychopathy, and therefore to determine whether or not they are adequately accessible in a role of power. . At least in Romania, there is no protocol in this regard, although it would be extremely useful both for our society and for individual social protection.
