This is a heavy emphasis on the psychology of individuals and their subjective mental states. It bears mentioning that individual personalities are of no greater and arguably less importance than larger historical forces. Trump is bat-shit crazy, for sure. But in terms of his objective impact on the public life of the country and how it came about, his accession to power and all the ensuing horror are made possible by objective causes and conditions outside his control. He is a symptom of the terminal decay of US bourgeois democracy and the crisis of captialism, processes that have been in motion for decades.
You are not alone in your wish to leave psychology out when we look at political or social events. I have an honours degree in political science/politics, and am well aware of the desire of analysts to ignore psychology.
However, the reality is that our psychology is behind everything we believe, and do. It determines the choices we make, how we perceive the world around us, our place in it and other people and how we interact with the world. Of course other factors are always involved, but our psychology also determines how we respond to them. The reality is that the psychology of people at the top of any human hierarchy including the family set the tone and determine the atmosphere and culture in that hierarchy. I have a job precisely because of this and I see this every day in my practice. Where the psychology of leaders is healthy and they are capable of growing and developing, it would set a flexible and healthy atmosphere in the hierarchy they command. Where people’s psychology is affected by a personality disorder they would sow confusion, fear and chaos. At the level of development that humans happen to be, we are still heavily affected by those at the top of any hierarchy. It is a scientific fact that our brains are wired by our environment and children are powerless against parents with personality disorders. The psychological impact of disordered parents for example, is predictable. One thing we know for sure is that they interfere with their child’s development to their potential.
I never said that psychology is the *only* factor that impacts on human affairs. Unavoidable circumstances such as natural disasters play a significant part in human affairs too, for example. But how we react to those and how we handle them is also determined by our psychology.
The systems and institutions we create in society are often an attempt to transcend and overcome the problems that people’s psychology can create, but where there is a disordered person in the mix, they can, and do often throw out all checks and balances and shape reality in their own messy image.
This has already happened in modern history numerous times, and even in the ancient world where democracy was invented and people thought we could overcome human psychological limitations by imposing a particular set or rules or order on ourselves. But each time a leader with a PD assumes power (and they assume power because the psychology of others enables them to do so), systems can and do get dismantled and unsettled, sometimes quite quickly.
I think that to ignore human psychology in our understanding of political and social processes is dangerous. It also requires us to ignore all the evidence we have. The fact is that 20% of humanity have PDs, and they always have a devastating impact on others. If you were in my profession, you would know this first hand.
Please don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say individual psychology plays *no* role in determining the course of human history. I'm saying it isn't the sole determinant; that objective historical processes are of at least equal importance. I do think the interplay between the the personal and the political is worthy of study.
I am a lay person where psychology is concerned -- though I have been married to a clinical psychologist for a long time, been in my share of therapy, acquired an above-average psychological awareness for a non-professional. But clinical credentials and experience are not required in order for one to hold the valid opinion that larger social structures and processes matter greatly. People with PDs are scattered up and down all strata of society, right? The amount of damage they can do will vary depending on the health of the society, on how robustly democratic and egalitarian the system is. Under capitalism, you stagger from one social crisis to the next, and imperialist war is inevitable, causing widespread immiseration, dehumanization, not to mention anxiety and fear and all that.
Humanity under capitalism is on a collision course with catastrophe -- you can see this wherever you look. If human civilization is still here in 100 years, it will be soclalist simply because it cannot be otherwise (let's define socialism loosely here as a system of economic and social organization where social need takes precedence over private profit). Socialism is not a panacea that will eliminate all suffering. But it would make it way more difficult for one highly disturbed individual like Trump to acquire enough power and money for him and his cothinkers to sow this much destruction. Conversely, as noted above, capitalist crisis in a sine qua non for fascist movements to emerge. If this country weren't as fucked up as it is (owing to large-scale historical processes and social structures), fascist tendencies would be far less likely to arise and take over.
I completely agree with you. I am sure you would see that we are on the same page if you read some of my other articles. Capitalism/neoliberalism in its current form, I believe, is a product of fear-based/limbic/survivalist psychology. Of course it perpetuates the same, and that’s because it is meant to.
I think people like Stalin, Mao, or HItler managed to sow a pretty good level of devastation, and I think that unless stopped, Trump stands a good chance of following suit. This country is fucked up owing to large-scale. Historical processes and social structures that are all a product/invention of human psychology, and in turn also interact with it. We can create an upward positive spiral towards growth and development to our potential or a downward spiral that leads if not to destruction, then to regression. I would be really interested in any comments you have on some of my other articles. Because I have written extensively about this elsewhere. In this piece I just wanted to express my dismay at the fact that everyone is so ‘surprised’ by what Trump is doing, as if we have never seen such behaviour before…
BTW, I also did not say psychology is the *only* factor. Please see my response to the person just above. Thanks for reading and commenting. I don’t believe we disagree.
From many studies on various PDs that’s the rough estimate. However, people with PDs can be overrepresented in certain sectors, also depending on the regime that happens to be in place. For example, in dictatorships where vulnerable groups are not protected, or there are scapegoat groups in society psychopaths are likely to feel emboldened and will try to occupy positions in organisations or structures where victim groups are oppressed. I am sure you are familiar with the ‘little Hitler’ phenomenon?
In general in human society, narcissists would tend to be overrepresented in positions and places where they perceive they are likely to get a lot of glory and admiration. This is why I think we need to clean up politics, and remove all perks from the jobs so that they do not attract people with NPD. Having said that, narcissists are often present in powerful positions even in aid organisations and in protest groups. It all depends on what and where they believe they are likely to get the most glory. I personally know a few narcissists in the pro-Palestine movement. I stay as far away from them as possible although on the surface we do not disagree on political points.
Given that what happened in the White House, and which seemed to have prompted your article, is in the context of a great, ongoing disaster for all of humanity, I was surprised to not see a word in your article regarding the possibility of there being a ceasefire in this Ukraine-Russia war. That would be a great accomplishment, regardless of who does it, or how flawed a human being gets it done. One doesn't have to like Trump, or grovel to him, to recognize that, if he can bring an end to the bloodshed, in this particular location, for whatever reason, that would be a good thing.
The EU and UK are showing a willingness to split with US policy, not over the genocide in Gaza, but to prolong this war in Ukraine, and their position is utterly despicable, and deserves being called out.
I agree Joy. But this was not the focus of this article. It is impossible to cover every single topic in one essays. My articles are all available publicly and for free, and I think I make my position on life, the universe and everything pretty clear…
I think he is a psychopath from what information I have been able to gather about him, but I don’t know enough so I could be wrong and he may be a narcissist. But his background in the KGB and his need to control others, rather than craving the limelight, suggest he is a psychopath, rather than a narcissist. I don’t think it’s necessary to point out that he has no empathy and that he has been attacking Ukrainian civilians and kidnapping who knows how many children, without any concern for what it does to them. I think there are signs of psychopathy there. Either way, neither he nor Trump can be trusted.
I'm curious about Putin as psychopath as well, Avigail. He's highly vilified in the west, as was Gaddafi, but I wonder if we should be looking a little deeper. Many are finding hope in BRICS as a way for nations to get along in the world, and Putin's been instrumental in developing that organization.
Also, what about Zelensky? Does he have a PD? He's outlawed all opposition parties and his term as president of Ukraine ran out months ago.
I think bombing a whole country to the stone age, including hospitals, schools, killing indiscriminately without any mercy, and stealing children to be delivered to Russian couples says a lot, don’t you?
You have to have something wrong with you to do this, even if you believe that NATO has wronged your country, and you are worried about nuclear weapons at your borders.
I know the political reasons behind what Russia has done in Ukraine, but the actions are no less reprehensible than what Israel has been doing in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria. Putin is an expansionist who, I believe, wishes to restore something of the old Soviet Union. He is a son of the KGB. He is not exactly nice, and while Western propaganda may be distorting things, his actions speak for themselves. Putin destroys his opponents, and no one does anything without his agreement. Hardly a saint.
I promise you, I am looking behind our propaganda. But Putin’s actions are not that secret. I have always thought Zelensky might be narcissistic too, but he may just be a poorly developed individual.
Until I sit with each one of these people in person (highly unlikely) and have a chance to chat with them, I won’t know for sure what their problems are. I am sharing my analysis and informed opinion but I am also happy to be proven wrong.
That's not my understanding, Avigail, and I'm curious about your sources. From what I've read from sources that I trust Russia hasn't been bombing non-military targets, unlike what Israel is doing. Also, I read that the children were Russian speaking and taken out of harm's way, and returned to their families when it was safe to do so.
Where are you looking behind the propaganda?
I also read somewhere, and haven't followed up, that Putin changed sometime in 2012, and for the better. I keep meaning to look further into this, but haven't.
So what the Ukrainian refugees who have had their homes destroyed, and have had to flee because of indiscriminate bombings (the same as Israel has been doing in Gaza) have been telling me is not true? We have refugees right here in the Highlands, and they are completely traumatised. I have met more than a few last time I was in Ireland a few months ago.
Have you not seen what large parts of Ukraine look like? Do you think this is all made up by our media, all the photos doctored? Just because our own Western countries are horrible, does not make the other guys good…
We need to resist looking at one person as bad and conclude that therefor the other must be good. We have a problem with dodgy leaders who are playing dice with peoples lives all over the world.
I can’t off the top of my head cite sources right now (I am also really tired), but Putin is not a nicer person because Trump or Starmer are bad, and what we see in Ukraine did not happen by itself or from a meteor strike. Please look things up, and if I am really wrong, let me know.
There are various sources confirming that parts asked that their children be taken away form war zones and those children were hosted in families, given piano lessons etc and generally well nurtured until the danger passed and they could return to their families. A university department funded by USA gov made the fake claims.
Avigail, I would suggest that you listen to or read Putin's actual statements and speeches, if you haven't done so. The Western media avoids broadcasting them, but they can be found on rt.com and sputnikglobe.com, and sometimes on Al Jazeera and other outlets. I'd be curious to know your analysis (I'm knocked-out impressed at your knowledge and understanding) after listening to him. I realize that psychopaths are experts at "faking sincerity" (there's one in my family, and he fools everyone except those of us who've known him all his life) but I get such a strong impression of a man who is insightful as well as intelligent, eloquent more than glib, sensitive to human feelings, and genuinely devoted to his people and to protecting them from the seemingly eternal assault on them and their land by the Western powers. I know that he is brutal in his suppression of dissent and opposition, and I can't support that, but I'm aware of the terrible history and lingering memory that has bred it.
I followed the (alternative) news in 2022 in which Putin made impassioned speeches begging the US and NATO to stop piling up arms in Ukraine all along their border with Russia, to stop threatening and eventually attacking Russian land, stating clearly that Russia had no imperialist, expansionist intentions - that they had enough land and people to take care of - and only wanted security at their borders and equal, just treatment of Russian speakers within Ukraine (they were being violently persecuted). Finally, he said that if his country continued to be threatened, he would strike military targets in Ukraine, which is what he did for some time. These speeches were suppressed in the West, along with most of the facts of Ukrainian/US/NATO aggression. The minute that Russian armaments crossed the border, the Western media went into (obviously pre-planned) overdrive, decrying the "unprovoked attack" by Russia, and that hype continues to this day. A year and a half later, I relived that BS media blitz as it was repeated exactly, referring to Hamas' "unprovoked attack" on Israel. We see what the media wants us to see.
I couldn't find any of the speeches I'm thinking of, but here is an interesting, if overblown by the Indian media, short:
I am well aware that Russia had felt threatened by NATO and US aggression and expansionism and I do not for a second believe that we are , or ever have been the ‘good guys’.
However, the fact that Putin is still president and pretty much runs Russia on his own in the same way that Netanyahu runs Israel on his own, speaks volume. Trump is now trying to achieve for himself what Putin has achieved in Russia.
Putin is not a good guy. I know the devastation of Ukrainian non military targets, and the destruction of the lives of so many civilians is not an optical illusion, or western propaganda. Israel always claims to only be hitting military targets in Gaza, but we know and see the truth.
I know the Ukrainian people were devastated by Putin and still are. My point is an innocent and kind man would not do this to people, no matter how oppressed he might feel. Saying this does not mean that I think for a second that the West has been innocent. The US is and always been expansionist and toxic, and I dearly hope that Trump would cause the collapse of US influence in the world. I have always thought that Trump is bad for the US but might turn out to be good for the rest of the world because he is destroying the US and dismantles its global influence. My point in this article was to argue against political analysts who ignore Trump’s psychology and are then ‘surprised’ when he behaves the way he does. I am not suggesting the West is innocent, or that Zelensky is ‘good’. I am only highlighting something that I wanted to draw people’s attention to.
The NATO threat was always real, but does it justify what Putin did in Ukraine? All psychopathic parents claim they are doing ‘what is best for their children’, and are ‘protecting’ them. In what universe is it OK for a leader of a nation to stay in power indefinitely, suppress all opposition to his rule, effectively abolish democracy, or behave like a parent to an entire nation? The world is largely led by dreadful people, mostly disordered ones and this needs to stop. We have to move away from simplistic or tribal thinking and start looking at humanity as one species and focus on what we have in common and what we want for ourselves. Everyone always has justifications for what they do. Try to sit with a couple in relationship therapy. If we stay focused at that level we get nowhere. We have to think about our potential and what we can do and be, and not succumb to our limitations and short-term gains.
He most certainly did not "invade" or "attack" Ukraine. He was defending two former oblasts of Ukraine who joined the Russian federation in keeping with the UN's right to self-determination after Ukranian Nazi regiments killed 14,000 ethnic Russian civilians in the Donbass in eight years and were about to launch an all-out attack backed by the West. The man is a hero of Russia. civilization.
I’m no fan of Trump but even a broken clock is right twice a day. Still, Avigail shares a prognosis that even some MAGAnites might find it hard to refute. She also has noble aspirations when she says “Imagine what life would be like if most of our political energy was invested in the actual work of running societies”. This gives me hope because they say if we can image it, we can make it happen. We just need to also start imagining how.
A broken clock that tells the time twice a day correctly is still broken and useless the rest of the time. A broken clock is a poor version of a clock and it does not fulfil the purpose or potential that a working clock can fulfil. Disordered people can occasionally get something right, but as I said the damage they do far exceeds any benefit they might offer.
We, humans, I believe, settler for too little and have low aspirations for ourselves. I have written about this so many times before. We have such potential and can do so much better, but we choose the poorer options and settler for broken clocks.
We also know what we have to do (e.g. not put disordered people in positions of power) but we ignore our own knowledge and let ourselves be led by our fear-based limbic impulses.
We must stay focused on our potential and on what we really want out of life. When we focus only on physical survival we don’t do well at anything, including survival.
I agree with you completely about imagination and I have said before that our limbic self cannot see beyond its experience. But we are more than this, and we can imagine what seems impossible and make it happen. If we don’t, it’s on us… Thank you for your comment.
Focusing on our potential is absolutely necessary but can result in blind spots that cause us to miss opportunities or throw out the baby with the bath water. I did not mean to say that a broken clock had any redeeming qualities. The expression simply reminds us not to take things for granted. Don’t look at that clock and say, no it’s wrong this can’t be the time. Because if you do that all the time, you could be wrong twice a day. Trump has a lot of faults including a persistent PD but that does not mean pressuring Zelensky to accept peace is bad, even when he does it in the obviously misguided and crude NPD fashion that was so proudly showcased, in an obnoxious display of primitive chest pounding. Am I wrong in advocating for a more flexible, less rigid stance against the things we find objectionable?
It is nothing to do with a flexible stance. It has to do with the reality of what PDs are. I realise you are finding it difficult, and I don’t blame you. Most people do, which is why victims of people with PDs find it so difficult to be understood in general society. People really don’t get what PDs are and the nature and extent of harm they cause to other people.
You are clearly a peace maker by nature with a wonderful and kind heart and a great deal of intelligence, which I admire.
Like you I am an idealist. But idealism does not mean ignoring knowledge we have. We can be idealists and still be well informed. Please remember I work with this all the time, in the real world. People’s wellbeing depends on my ability to understand what they are dealing with. My clients recover because I know what is possible for us, humans, but the ability to help people requires a solid understanding of what they are dealing with, and the nature of the harm done to them.
Trump doesn’t care about peace, about Ukraine, or about *anything* except getting admiration from whoever is in front of him… He doesn’t care, because he can’t care, not because he chooses not to. That’s the point of a PD. There is no history, no continuity, nothing to build on, and no purpose except for immediate gratification. The person is only interested in getting the next ‘fix’ from the person sitting in front of them.
Trump does not have “a lot of faults”, he is a broken human being who will never be a full human being with ethics, empathy, morality, reason, clarity, ability to plan ahead, ability to regulate emotions and behaviour, or self-awareness. His brain is broken. It’s genetic, and it affects about 20% of people. A human being without a functional PFC (prefrontal cortex) is a predator. This is extremely dangerous and the more power people with PDs have, the more devastation they cause.
I am so sorry. But these are facts. We can wish for things to be different, but it doesn’t make them so. We need to know what we are dealing with if we want to help a situation and prevent harm. That was the point of my article.
Excellent point: “We need to know what we are dealing with if we want to help a situation and prevent harm. That was the point of my article”. Sorry I missed it. To me it’s just SOP so maybe it’s not so much that I missed but that I took it for granted. Either way, I should have acknowledged that point.
Very interesting as always. I have realised that my family includes a narcissist, from whom I am trying to distance as far as circumstances allow. I have two questions. How should other political leaders attempt to deal with a hugely powerful leader with the emotional maturity of a toddler, given that
walking away is impossible? And, given the problems with political systems that you have described, what would come closest to a benevolent and functional system?
I am sorry to hear this and I know you are making the right choice to stay away as much as possible.
I am not sure I have an answer to your first question, but let me brainstorm. Let’s imagine that no one went to the White House to meet Trump and that he was just shunned. Or, instead of going to him to be humiliated at his ‘throne’, while he’s having the upper hand on his turf, how about inviting him to visit other countries instead? Also, how about the media completely blank him and run only minimal information about him. What the media are doing is not helping anyone and is just giving him the attention he craves. I also think Europe and the rest of the world need to think about a way to restructure that leaves the US out of the picture. I believe some people in the EU are in fact already thinking in those terms. We, humans, are bright enough to come up with ideas. But indulging someone like Trump, a king in his own mind, will lead to nothing but trouble and chaos. We have plenty of examples from history but we are not learning from our experience and keep repeating the same destructive patterns.
As for the second question, I have been writing about this extensively and many of my essays here on Substack discuss this in some detail. In principle we need to reorganise humanity around a different paradigm. We need to make growth to our human potential, rather than survivalism, the central principle around which we organise everything. Please do have a look at some of my other articles, and you are welcome to get back to me with your thoughts. Thank you for reading and for your comment and questions.
I could be wrong, but I think it is a symptom of NPD that people tend to overestimate their abilities. Have a look at the clinical definition of NPD I included in two other posts on the topic, and see what you think. It can certainly exisst without narcissism too, but I believe it is also a part of the NPD construct.
Der "Dunning-Kruger-Effekt" ist völlig wertlos, eine Pseudodiagnose. Zitat:
Dunning und Kruger veröffentlichen ihre Ergebnisse im Journal of Personality and Social Psychology unter dem Titel: „Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments“. Frei übersetzt: „Der eigenen Unfähigkeit nicht bewusst: Wie Schwierigkeiten, die eigene Inkompetenz zu erkennen, zu Selbstüberschätzung führen“. Der Dunning-Kruger-Effekt taucht in der Fachliteratur bisher kaum auf. Dafür umso mehr in populärwissenschaftlichen Texten sowie auf Blogs und anderen Internetseiten. Im Jahr 2000 gewann das Phänomen den satirischen „Ig-Nobelpreis“ im Bereich Psychologie. Allzu ernst nehmen sich die beiden Autoren der Studie auch selbst nicht. Bereits auf der ersten Seite ihrer Publikation heißt es: Die unbewusste Inkompetenz zeigt sich auf vielen Gebieten, darunter Teamführung, Kindererziehung und das Durchführen einer fragwürdigen psychologischen Studie.
Dunning und Kruger beschrieben einen realen Effekt korrekt: die meisten Menschen glauben, sie seien besser als der Durchschnitt. Das ist es aber auch, nichts weiter. Die Realität ist, dass Menschen sehr wohl eine Fähigkeit haben, die eigene Kompetenz und Wissen realistisch einzuschätzen.
»the reality is that very few people are truly unskilled and unaware«(8)
Es liegt ein selbstgefälliger Anflug von Überlegenheit darin, die DKE als Waffe einzusetzen, um die Ansichten anderer abzutun oder ihre Intelligenz in Zweifel zu ziehen. Jemanden als Opfer der DKE zu bezeichnen, scheint wasserdicht, denn jede Ablehnung kann als Bestätigung der mangelnden Kenntnis gewertet werden, die die Beleidigung impliziert. Die Ironie besteht jedoch darin, dass die namentliche Erwähnung der DKE auf diese Weise einen Mangel an Kenntnis der Beweise zeigt, sodass jeder Anflug von Überlegenheit nur eine Illusion ist.
Very interesting, although I had to get it translated before I was able to read. Thank you. I have not heard about the DKE until Neville mentioned it, and I looked it up when he did. The important thing for me is the personality disorder and this is what the article is about. Thank you for your comment.
Oh dear. Yes I think you nailed it. Trump will never consider in repeating Napoleon’s quote about the man who defends his country: that it did not go particularly well for him, nor the French people.
Trump is pretty ignorant. Some narcissists can be intelligent and well-educated, albeit still lacking the human abilities of the PFC. But Trump is a spectacular example of someone whose world is genuinely narrow and who doesn’t know much. I remember a case where a person with NPD was shown the clinical definition of the disorder and that person's response was, ‘That’s not a problem. This is a badge of honour’. What healthy people recognise is seriously problematic (see the full DSV-V definition which I cited in my other two articles on narcissism), narcissists think is perfectly fine. They do not have a broader perspective, self-awareness, or the ability to see their negative impact on others and care about it. They live in their own surreal and very narrow universe where they are the focal point. Of course he has no idea things ended up badly for Napoleon. All he sees is the ‘glory’ and the ‘glitz’. People like this should never be put in position of power. They are harmful enough to their families and those closest to them. But when given the power of state or of an organisation, their devastation is far-reaching, as history teaches us, of course. The problem is not DT, it is the people who put him in power. I have written about this as well, but in relation to psychopaths. Thank you for reading and for your comment.
This is one of the only sane perspectives I've seen. It makes sense to assume anyone in power is a narcissist. The fact that most people still try to apply a lens of looking for logic or reason is incredibly depressing. The people don't have power if they are ignorant nincompoops
Actually, not academics, but clinicians with real life experience. I don’t know about you, but I see the handiwork of disordered people in my practice every day. Regarding Putin, just because the West is horrible and expansionist and has always enabled toxic imperialistic US influence, does not mean Putin is a good guy. I think that he has remained in power for so long, and his treatment of opposition betrays something about his character. No?
Abigail..I didn't say I thought Putin is a "good guy"..come on. Remaining in power for a long time could be due to a brutal approach to opposition, yes, or equally a genuine formidable respect from his compeditors..or both. We don't know.
His militarist actions are pretty clearly all about securing an independent Russia rather than an expansionist Russia. But if you look at the stated objectives of Brics, then unfortunately, from my perspective, they reflect closely those of the UN, WHO and WEF. I don't have a good feeling about being dominated by Russia or China..but we all know the western empire has no morals..just look at the body count
I think Mr Raven above is referring to the phrase, ‘Trump derangement Syndrome’. He either likes Trump and thinks we are unfair to him, or he hates him and doesn’t like to read about him.
Ooh, thank you so much for taking the time to explain… yes, it’s not really clear what this reader’s stance is. Anyway than you for your article that is rare indeed in connecting the psychological to the political. Typically, the two areas are very much compartmentalised in Western discourse.
And to our detriment, considering that everything we believe, feel, think, how we act, how we see the world, ourselves and other people, how we relate and the choices we make are all determined by our psychology…
The compartmentalisation in subjects and field of knowledge is major factoring keeping people confused and dependent on so-called 'experts', who rarely think outside of their narrow field of so-called expertise.
This is a heavy emphasis on the psychology of individuals and their subjective mental states. It bears mentioning that individual personalities are of no greater and arguably less importance than larger historical forces. Trump is bat-shit crazy, for sure. But in terms of his objective impact on the public life of the country and how it came about, his accession to power and all the ensuing horror are made possible by objective causes and conditions outside his control. He is a symptom of the terminal decay of US bourgeois democracy and the crisis of captialism, processes that have been in motion for decades.
You are not alone in your wish to leave psychology out when we look at political or social events. I have an honours degree in political science/politics, and am well aware of the desire of analysts to ignore psychology.
However, the reality is that our psychology is behind everything we believe, and do. It determines the choices we make, how we perceive the world around us, our place in it and other people and how we interact with the world. Of course other factors are always involved, but our psychology also determines how we respond to them. The reality is that the psychology of people at the top of any human hierarchy including the family set the tone and determine the atmosphere and culture in that hierarchy. I have a job precisely because of this and I see this every day in my practice. Where the psychology of leaders is healthy and they are capable of growing and developing, it would set a flexible and healthy atmosphere in the hierarchy they command. Where people’s psychology is affected by a personality disorder they would sow confusion, fear and chaos. At the level of development that humans happen to be, we are still heavily affected by those at the top of any hierarchy. It is a scientific fact that our brains are wired by our environment and children are powerless against parents with personality disorders. The psychological impact of disordered parents for example, is predictable. One thing we know for sure is that they interfere with their child’s development to their potential.
I never said that psychology is the *only* factor that impacts on human affairs. Unavoidable circumstances such as natural disasters play a significant part in human affairs too, for example. But how we react to those and how we handle them is also determined by our psychology.
The systems and institutions we create in society are often an attempt to transcend and overcome the problems that people’s psychology can create, but where there is a disordered person in the mix, they can, and do often throw out all checks and balances and shape reality in their own messy image.
This has already happened in modern history numerous times, and even in the ancient world where democracy was invented and people thought we could overcome human psychological limitations by imposing a particular set or rules or order on ourselves. But each time a leader with a PD assumes power (and they assume power because the psychology of others enables them to do so), systems can and do get dismantled and unsettled, sometimes quite quickly.
I think that to ignore human psychology in our understanding of political and social processes is dangerous. It also requires us to ignore all the evidence we have. The fact is that 20% of humanity have PDs, and they always have a devastating impact on others. If you were in my profession, you would know this first hand.
Please don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say individual psychology plays *no* role in determining the course of human history. I'm saying it isn't the sole determinant; that objective historical processes are of at least equal importance. I do think the interplay between the the personal and the political is worthy of study.
I am a lay person where psychology is concerned -- though I have been married to a clinical psychologist for a long time, been in my share of therapy, acquired an above-average psychological awareness for a non-professional. But clinical credentials and experience are not required in order for one to hold the valid opinion that larger social structures and processes matter greatly. People with PDs are scattered up and down all strata of society, right? The amount of damage they can do will vary depending on the health of the society, on how robustly democratic and egalitarian the system is. Under capitalism, you stagger from one social crisis to the next, and imperialist war is inevitable, causing widespread immiseration, dehumanization, not to mention anxiety and fear and all that.
Humanity under capitalism is on a collision course with catastrophe -- you can see this wherever you look. If human civilization is still here in 100 years, it will be soclalist simply because it cannot be otherwise (let's define socialism loosely here as a system of economic and social organization where social need takes precedence over private profit). Socialism is not a panacea that will eliminate all suffering. But it would make it way more difficult for one highly disturbed individual like Trump to acquire enough power and money for him and his cothinkers to sow this much destruction. Conversely, as noted above, capitalist crisis in a sine qua non for fascist movements to emerge. If this country weren't as fucked up as it is (owing to large-scale historical processes and social structures), fascist tendencies would be far less likely to arise and take over.
I completely agree with you. I am sure you would see that we are on the same page if you read some of my other articles. Capitalism/neoliberalism in its current form, I believe, is a product of fear-based/limbic/survivalist psychology. Of course it perpetuates the same, and that’s because it is meant to.
I think people like Stalin, Mao, or HItler managed to sow a pretty good level of devastation, and I think that unless stopped, Trump stands a good chance of following suit. This country is fucked up owing to large-scale. Historical processes and social structures that are all a product/invention of human psychology, and in turn also interact with it. We can create an upward positive spiral towards growth and development to our potential or a downward spiral that leads if not to destruction, then to regression. I would be really interested in any comments you have on some of my other articles. Because I have written extensively about this elsewhere. In this piece I just wanted to express my dismay at the fact that everyone is so ‘surprised’ by what Trump is doing, as if we have never seen such behaviour before…
BTW, I also did not say psychology is the *only* factor. Please see my response to the person just above. Thanks for reading and commenting. I don’t believe we disagree.
Only 20%?
From many studies on various PDs that’s the rough estimate. However, people with PDs can be overrepresented in certain sectors, also depending on the regime that happens to be in place. For example, in dictatorships where vulnerable groups are not protected, or there are scapegoat groups in society psychopaths are likely to feel emboldened and will try to occupy positions in organisations or structures where victim groups are oppressed. I am sure you are familiar with the ‘little Hitler’ phenomenon?
In general in human society, narcissists would tend to be overrepresented in positions and places where they perceive they are likely to get a lot of glory and admiration. This is why I think we need to clean up politics, and remove all perks from the jobs so that they do not attract people with NPD. Having said that, narcissists are often present in powerful positions even in aid organisations and in protest groups. It all depends on what and where they believe they are likely to get the most glory. I personally know a few narcissists in the pro-Palestine movement. I stay as far away from them as possible although on the surface we do not disagree on political points.
Given that what happened in the White House, and which seemed to have prompted your article, is in the context of a great, ongoing disaster for all of humanity, I was surprised to not see a word in your article regarding the possibility of there being a ceasefire in this Ukraine-Russia war. That would be a great accomplishment, regardless of who does it, or how flawed a human being gets it done. One doesn't have to like Trump, or grovel to him, to recognize that, if he can bring an end to the bloodshed, in this particular location, for whatever reason, that would be a good thing.
The EU and UK are showing a willingness to split with US policy, not over the genocide in Gaza, but to prolong this war in Ukraine, and their position is utterly despicable, and deserves being called out.
I agree Joy. But this was not the focus of this article. It is impossible to cover every single topic in one essays. My articles are all available publicly and for free, and I think I make my position on life, the universe and everything pretty clear…
Insightful and excellent .... horribly convincing. Tragic to imagine the millions of reasonable, responsible
people in all nations whose lives are blighted by their so-called "great leaders".Thank you, Avigail.
Yes, the comparison with Henry V111 makes much sense.
Thank you. (I am also always happy to be wrong).
For my part, I’d like to know what makes President Putin a psychopath?
I think he is a psychopath from what information I have been able to gather about him, but I don’t know enough so I could be wrong and he may be a narcissist. But his background in the KGB and his need to control others, rather than craving the limelight, suggest he is a psychopath, rather than a narcissist. I don’t think it’s necessary to point out that he has no empathy and that he has been attacking Ukrainian civilians and kidnapping who knows how many children, without any concern for what it does to them. I think there are signs of psychopathy there. Either way, neither he nor Trump can be trusted.
I'm curious about Putin as psychopath as well, Avigail. He's highly vilified in the west, as was Gaddafi, but I wonder if we should be looking a little deeper. Many are finding hope in BRICS as a way for nations to get along in the world, and Putin's been instrumental in developing that organization.
Also, what about Zelensky? Does he have a PD? He's outlawed all opposition parties and his term as president of Ukraine ran out months ago.
I think bombing a whole country to the stone age, including hospitals, schools, killing indiscriminately without any mercy, and stealing children to be delivered to Russian couples says a lot, don’t you?
You have to have something wrong with you to do this, even if you believe that NATO has wronged your country, and you are worried about nuclear weapons at your borders.
I know the political reasons behind what Russia has done in Ukraine, but the actions are no less reprehensible than what Israel has been doing in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria. Putin is an expansionist who, I believe, wishes to restore something of the old Soviet Union. He is a son of the KGB. He is not exactly nice, and while Western propaganda may be distorting things, his actions speak for themselves. Putin destroys his opponents, and no one does anything without his agreement. Hardly a saint.
I promise you, I am looking behind our propaganda. But Putin’s actions are not that secret. I have always thought Zelensky might be narcissistic too, but he may just be a poorly developed individual.
Until I sit with each one of these people in person (highly unlikely) and have a chance to chat with them, I won’t know for sure what their problems are. I am sharing my analysis and informed opinion but I am also happy to be proven wrong.
That's not my understanding, Avigail, and I'm curious about your sources. From what I've read from sources that I trust Russia hasn't been bombing non-military targets, unlike what Israel is doing. Also, I read that the children were Russian speaking and taken out of harm's way, and returned to their families when it was safe to do so.
Where are you looking behind the propaganda?
I also read somewhere, and haven't followed up, that Putin changed sometime in 2012, and for the better. I keep meaning to look further into this, but haven't.
So what the Ukrainian refugees who have had their homes destroyed, and have had to flee because of indiscriminate bombings (the same as Israel has been doing in Gaza) have been telling me is not true? We have refugees right here in the Highlands, and they are completely traumatised. I have met more than a few last time I was in Ireland a few months ago.
Have you not seen what large parts of Ukraine look like? Do you think this is all made up by our media, all the photos doctored? Just because our own Western countries are horrible, does not make the other guys good…
We need to resist looking at one person as bad and conclude that therefor the other must be good. We have a problem with dodgy leaders who are playing dice with peoples lives all over the world.
I can’t off the top of my head cite sources right now (I am also really tired), but Putin is not a nicer person because Trump or Starmer are bad, and what we see in Ukraine did not happen by itself or from a meteor strike. Please look things up, and if I am really wrong, let me know.
There are various sources confirming that parts asked that their children be taken away form war zones and those children were hosted in families, given piano lessons etc and generally well nurtured until the danger passed and they could return to their families. A university department funded by USA gov made the fake claims.
Avigail, I would suggest that you listen to or read Putin's actual statements and speeches, if you haven't done so. The Western media avoids broadcasting them, but they can be found on rt.com and sputnikglobe.com, and sometimes on Al Jazeera and other outlets. I'd be curious to know your analysis (I'm knocked-out impressed at your knowledge and understanding) after listening to him. I realize that psychopaths are experts at "faking sincerity" (there's one in my family, and he fools everyone except those of us who've known him all his life) but I get such a strong impression of a man who is insightful as well as intelligent, eloquent more than glib, sensitive to human feelings, and genuinely devoted to his people and to protecting them from the seemingly eternal assault on them and their land by the Western powers. I know that he is brutal in his suppression of dissent and opposition, and I can't support that, but I'm aware of the terrible history and lingering memory that has bred it.
I followed the (alternative) news in 2022 in which Putin made impassioned speeches begging the US and NATO to stop piling up arms in Ukraine all along their border with Russia, to stop threatening and eventually attacking Russian land, stating clearly that Russia had no imperialist, expansionist intentions - that they had enough land and people to take care of - and only wanted security at their borders and equal, just treatment of Russian speakers within Ukraine (they were being violently persecuted). Finally, he said that if his country continued to be threatened, he would strike military targets in Ukraine, which is what he did for some time. These speeches were suppressed in the West, along with most of the facts of Ukrainian/US/NATO aggression. The minute that Russian armaments crossed the border, the Western media went into (obviously pre-planned) overdrive, decrying the "unprovoked attack" by Russia, and that hype continues to this day. A year and a half later, I relived that BS media blitz as it was repeated exactly, referring to Hamas' "unprovoked attack" on Israel. We see what the media wants us to see.
I couldn't find any of the speeches I'm thinking of, but here is an interesting, if overblown by the Indian media, short:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gliPf3Fr3Yg
And a short video showing how our western media is controlling the narrative:
https://sputnikglobe.com/20241112/eu-sanctions-independent-reporter-to-hide-donbass-reality-from-global-audiences-1120861510.html
I will follow your links and will listen.
I am well aware that Russia had felt threatened by NATO and US aggression and expansionism and I do not for a second believe that we are , or ever have been the ‘good guys’.
However, the fact that Putin is still president and pretty much runs Russia on his own in the same way that Netanyahu runs Israel on his own, speaks volume. Trump is now trying to achieve for himself what Putin has achieved in Russia.
Putin is not a good guy. I know the devastation of Ukrainian non military targets, and the destruction of the lives of so many civilians is not an optical illusion, or western propaganda. Israel always claims to only be hitting military targets in Gaza, but we know and see the truth.
I know the Ukrainian people were devastated by Putin and still are. My point is an innocent and kind man would not do this to people, no matter how oppressed he might feel. Saying this does not mean that I think for a second that the West has been innocent. The US is and always been expansionist and toxic, and I dearly hope that Trump would cause the collapse of US influence in the world. I have always thought that Trump is bad for the US but might turn out to be good for the rest of the world because he is destroying the US and dismantles its global influence. My point in this article was to argue against political analysts who ignore Trump’s psychology and are then ‘surprised’ when he behaves the way he does. I am not suggesting the West is innocent, or that Zelensky is ‘good’. I am only highlighting something that I wanted to draw people’s attention to.
The NATO threat was always real, but does it justify what Putin did in Ukraine? All psychopathic parents claim they are doing ‘what is best for their children’, and are ‘protecting’ them. In what universe is it OK for a leader of a nation to stay in power indefinitely, suppress all opposition to his rule, effectively abolish democracy, or behave like a parent to an entire nation? The world is largely led by dreadful people, mostly disordered ones and this needs to stop. We have to move away from simplistic or tribal thinking and start looking at humanity as one species and focus on what we have in common and what we want for ourselves. Everyone always has justifications for what they do. Try to sit with a couple in relationship therapy. If we stay focused at that level we get nowhere. We have to think about our potential and what we can do and be, and not succumb to our limitations and short-term gains.
He most certainly did not "invade" or "attack" Ukraine. He was defending two former oblasts of Ukraine who joined the Russian federation in keeping with the UN's right to self-determination after Ukranian Nazi regiments killed 14,000 ethnic Russian civilians in the Donbass in eight years and were about to launch an all-out attack backed by the West. The man is a hero of Russia. civilization.
I’m no fan of Trump but even a broken clock is right twice a day. Still, Avigail shares a prognosis that even some MAGAnites might find it hard to refute. She also has noble aspirations when she says “Imagine what life would be like if most of our political energy was invested in the actual work of running societies”. This gives me hope because they say if we can image it, we can make it happen. We just need to also start imagining how.
A broken clock that tells the time twice a day correctly is still broken and useless the rest of the time. A broken clock is a poor version of a clock and it does not fulfil the purpose or potential that a working clock can fulfil. Disordered people can occasionally get something right, but as I said the damage they do far exceeds any benefit they might offer.
We, humans, I believe, settler for too little and have low aspirations for ourselves. I have written about this so many times before. We have such potential and can do so much better, but we choose the poorer options and settler for broken clocks.
We also know what we have to do (e.g. not put disordered people in positions of power) but we ignore our own knowledge and let ourselves be led by our fear-based limbic impulses.
We must stay focused on our potential and on what we really want out of life. When we focus only on physical survival we don’t do well at anything, including survival.
I agree with you completely about imagination and I have said before that our limbic self cannot see beyond its experience. But we are more than this, and we can imagine what seems impossible and make it happen. If we don’t, it’s on us… Thank you for your comment.
Focusing on our potential is absolutely necessary but can result in blind spots that cause us to miss opportunities or throw out the baby with the bath water. I did not mean to say that a broken clock had any redeeming qualities. The expression simply reminds us not to take things for granted. Don’t look at that clock and say, no it’s wrong this can’t be the time. Because if you do that all the time, you could be wrong twice a day. Trump has a lot of faults including a persistent PD but that does not mean pressuring Zelensky to accept peace is bad, even when he does it in the obviously misguided and crude NPD fashion that was so proudly showcased, in an obnoxious display of primitive chest pounding. Am I wrong in advocating for a more flexible, less rigid stance against the things we find objectionable?
It is nothing to do with a flexible stance. It has to do with the reality of what PDs are. I realise you are finding it difficult, and I don’t blame you. Most people do, which is why victims of people with PDs find it so difficult to be understood in general society. People really don’t get what PDs are and the nature and extent of harm they cause to other people.
You are clearly a peace maker by nature with a wonderful and kind heart and a great deal of intelligence, which I admire.
Like you I am an idealist. But idealism does not mean ignoring knowledge we have. We can be idealists and still be well informed. Please remember I work with this all the time, in the real world. People’s wellbeing depends on my ability to understand what they are dealing with. My clients recover because I know what is possible for us, humans, but the ability to help people requires a solid understanding of what they are dealing with, and the nature of the harm done to them.
Trump doesn’t care about peace, about Ukraine, or about *anything* except getting admiration from whoever is in front of him… He doesn’t care, because he can’t care, not because he chooses not to. That’s the point of a PD. There is no history, no continuity, nothing to build on, and no purpose except for immediate gratification. The person is only interested in getting the next ‘fix’ from the person sitting in front of them.
Trump does not have “a lot of faults”, he is a broken human being who will never be a full human being with ethics, empathy, morality, reason, clarity, ability to plan ahead, ability to regulate emotions and behaviour, or self-awareness. His brain is broken. It’s genetic, and it affects about 20% of people. A human being without a functional PFC (prefrontal cortex) is a predator. This is extremely dangerous and the more power people with PDs have, the more devastation they cause.
I am so sorry. But these are facts. We can wish for things to be different, but it doesn’t make them so. We need to know what we are dealing with if we want to help a situation and prevent harm. That was the point of my article.
Excellent point: “We need to know what we are dealing with if we want to help a situation and prevent harm. That was the point of my article”. Sorry I missed it. To me it’s just SOP so maybe it’s not so much that I missed but that I took it for granted. Either way, I should have acknowledged that point.
Very interesting as always. I have realised that my family includes a narcissist, from whom I am trying to distance as far as circumstances allow. I have two questions. How should other political leaders attempt to deal with a hugely powerful leader with the emotional maturity of a toddler, given that
walking away is impossible? And, given the problems with political systems that you have described, what would come closest to a benevolent and functional system?
I am sorry to hear this and I know you are making the right choice to stay away as much as possible.
I am not sure I have an answer to your first question, but let me brainstorm. Let’s imagine that no one went to the White House to meet Trump and that he was just shunned. Or, instead of going to him to be humiliated at his ‘throne’, while he’s having the upper hand on his turf, how about inviting him to visit other countries instead? Also, how about the media completely blank him and run only minimal information about him. What the media are doing is not helping anyone and is just giving him the attention he craves. I also think Europe and the rest of the world need to think about a way to restructure that leaves the US out of the picture. I believe some people in the EU are in fact already thinking in those terms. We, humans, are bright enough to come up with ideas. But indulging someone like Trump, a king in his own mind, will lead to nothing but trouble and chaos. We have plenty of examples from history but we are not learning from our experience and keep repeating the same destructive patterns.
As for the second question, I have been writing about this extensively and many of my essays here on Substack discuss this in some detail. In principle we need to reorganise humanity around a different paradigm. We need to make growth to our human potential, rather than survivalism, the central principle around which we organise everything. Please do have a look at some of my other articles, and you are welcome to get back to me with your thoughts. Thank you for reading and for your comment and questions.
Excellent stuff. We can also assume that the ‘media’ is chock full of journalists/ editors/ owners with NPD or other PDs 🤐
Very likely and surrounded by a lot of weak people motivated mostly by self-preservation…
Perhaps might you add the Dunning–Kruger effect to your diagnosis?
I could be wrong, but I think it is a symptom of NPD that people tend to overestimate their abilities. Have a look at the clinical definition of NPD I included in two other posts on the topic, and see what you think. It can certainly exisst without narcissism too, but I believe it is also a part of the NPD construct.
Der "Dunning-Kruger-Effekt" ist völlig wertlos, eine Pseudodiagnose. Zitat:
Dunning und Kruger veröffentlichen ihre Ergebnisse im Journal of Personality and Social Psychology unter dem Titel: „Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments“. Frei übersetzt: „Der eigenen Unfähigkeit nicht bewusst: Wie Schwierigkeiten, die eigene Inkompetenz zu erkennen, zu Selbstüberschätzung führen“. Der Dunning-Kruger-Effekt taucht in der Fachliteratur bisher kaum auf. Dafür umso mehr in populärwissenschaftlichen Texten sowie auf Blogs und anderen Internetseiten. Im Jahr 2000 gewann das Phänomen den satirischen „Ig-Nobelpreis“ im Bereich Psychologie. Allzu ernst nehmen sich die beiden Autoren der Studie auch selbst nicht. Bereits auf der ersten Seite ihrer Publikation heißt es: Die unbewusste Inkompetenz zeigt sich auf vielen Gebieten, darunter Teamführung, Kindererziehung und das Durchführen einer fragwürdigen psychologischen Studie.
Dunning und Kruger beschrieben einen realen Effekt korrekt: die meisten Menschen glauben, sie seien besser als der Durchschnitt. Das ist es aber auch, nichts weiter. Die Realität ist, dass Menschen sehr wohl eine Fähigkeit haben, die eigene Kompetenz und Wissen realistisch einzuschätzen.
»the reality is that very few people are truly unskilled and unaware«(8)
https://digitalien.org/knecht/dunning-kruger-effekt-stimmt-nur-halb
https://digitalien.org/knecht/dunning-kruger-effekt-stimmt-nur-halb
https://schulesocialmedia.com/2018/04/21/die-grosse-bedeutung-von-selbsteinschaetzung-oder-warum-es-den-dunning-kruger-effekt-nicht-gibt/
https://krautreporter.de/psyche-und-gesundheit/5315-warum-der-dunning-kruger-effekt-falsch-sein-konnte
https://pm-wissen.com/dunning-kruger-effekt_10738
https://www.fr.de/kultur/dunning-kruger-effekt-nur-zu-dumm-91040380.html
Es liegt ein selbstgefälliger Anflug von Überlegenheit darin, die DKE als Waffe einzusetzen, um die Ansichten anderer abzutun oder ihre Intelligenz in Zweifel zu ziehen. Jemanden als Opfer der DKE zu bezeichnen, scheint wasserdicht, denn jede Ablehnung kann als Bestätigung der mangelnden Kenntnis gewertet werden, die die Beleidigung impliziert. Die Ironie besteht jedoch darin, dass die namentliche Erwähnung der DKE auf diese Weise einen Mangel an Kenntnis der Beweise zeigt, sodass jeder Anflug von Überlegenheit nur eine Illusion ist.
https://www-bps-org-uk.translate.goog/psychologist/persistent-irony-dunning-kruger-effect?_x_tr_sl=en&_x_tr_tl=de&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=rq&_x_tr_hist=true
Very interesting, although I had to get it translated before I was able to read. Thank you. I have not heard about the DKE until Neville mentioned it, and I looked it up when he did. The important thing for me is the personality disorder and this is what the article is about. Thank you for your comment.
Oh dear. Yes I think you nailed it. Trump will never consider in repeating Napoleon’s quote about the man who defends his country: that it did not go particularly well for him, nor the French people.
Trump is pretty ignorant. Some narcissists can be intelligent and well-educated, albeit still lacking the human abilities of the PFC. But Trump is a spectacular example of someone whose world is genuinely narrow and who doesn’t know much. I remember a case where a person with NPD was shown the clinical definition of the disorder and that person's response was, ‘That’s not a problem. This is a badge of honour’. What healthy people recognise is seriously problematic (see the full DSV-V definition which I cited in my other two articles on narcissism), narcissists think is perfectly fine. They do not have a broader perspective, self-awareness, or the ability to see their negative impact on others and care about it. They live in their own surreal and very narrow universe where they are the focal point. Of course he has no idea things ended up badly for Napoleon. All he sees is the ‘glory’ and the ‘glitz’. People like this should never be put in position of power. They are harmful enough to their families and those closest to them. But when given the power of state or of an organisation, their devastation is far-reaching, as history teaches us, of course. The problem is not DT, it is the people who put him in power. I have written about this as well, but in relation to psychopaths. Thank you for reading and for your comment.
This is one of the only sane perspectives I've seen. It makes sense to assume anyone in power is a narcissist. The fact that most people still try to apply a lens of looking for logic or reason is incredibly depressing. The people don't have power if they are ignorant nincompoops
Not everyone, but the ones that are are easily spotted.
Speculation..Putin remains an enigma. Your sources of info on him are one sided. Having displaced locals as evidence tells you one side only.
Throwing around labels as you do is maybe what academics do for sustenance...
Actually, not academics, but clinicians with real life experience. I don’t know about you, but I see the handiwork of disordered people in my practice every day. Regarding Putin, just because the West is horrible and expansionist and has always enabled toxic imperialistic US influence, does not mean Putin is a good guy. I think that he has remained in power for so long, and his treatment of opposition betrays something about his character. No?
Abigail..I didn't say I thought Putin is a "good guy"..come on. Remaining in power for a long time could be due to a brutal approach to opposition, yes, or equally a genuine formidable respect from his compeditors..or both. We don't know.
His militarist actions are pretty clearly all about securing an independent Russia rather than an expansionist Russia. But if you look at the stated objectives of Brics, then unfortunately, from my perspective, they reflect closely those of the UN, WHO and WEF. I don't have a good feeling about being dominated by Russia or China..but we all know the western empire has no morals..just look at the body count
Why I am subscribed to the war mongering TDS bullshit? Unsubscribed!
Brilliant. Thank you. But if you have a moment, I would love to hear what you see in my writings that is ‘war mongering’.
What is TDS?
I think Mr Raven above is referring to the phrase, ‘Trump derangement Syndrome’. He either likes Trump and thinks we are unfair to him, or he hates him and doesn’t like to read about him.
Ooh, thank you so much for taking the time to explain… yes, it’s not really clear what this reader’s stance is. Anyway than you for your article that is rare indeed in connecting the psychological to the political. Typically, the two areas are very much compartmentalised in Western discourse.
And to our detriment, considering that everything we believe, feel, think, how we act, how we see the world, ourselves and other people, how we relate and the choices we make are all determined by our psychology…
The compartmentalisation in subjects and field of knowledge is major factoring keeping people confused and dependent on so-called 'experts', who rarely think outside of their narrow field of so-called expertise.