I just love my recently discovered word psychopathocracy, which means rule by psychopaths, because to a large extent it helps to explain the state of the world. A psychopath can lie, cheat, manipulate and charm the people about him without feeling the slightest glimmer of conscience or guilt. I say him because the majority of psychopaths, about 80% or more, are male and given their superficial charm and inner ruthlessness, it's not surprising that they rise quickly in politics, business and the judiciary. They are attracted to power because they then have more opportunity to indulge their utter self-centredness.
The term psychopath has been widely misunderstood and misapplied. There is a tendency to think of the screen character Hannibal Lector as the archetypal psychopath but in fact this character is rather atypical. The great majority are not murderers and never attract the attention of the police. Psychopaths are far more likely to manipulate than to murder. It is their shameless and skilful scheming that helps them rise to the top of whatever profession they enter. Non-psychopathic personalities cannot conceive of such deviousness and are always at a disadvantage.
Psychopaths can never admit that they are wrong and will always find an excuse for their behaviour or someone else to blame if their schemes are uncovered. The percentage of psychopaths in the general population is estimated to be around 5% but their concentration is likely to be far higher in the upper echelons of the military, government, medical profession, legal profession and the CEOs of large corporations. They live amongst us, dominate our institutions and yet they are an alien race that has remained undetected for the larger part of human history. Only in the last one hundred years has their existence been recognised but even today, their numbers and influence are vastly underestimated.
I'll have more to say on this topic of course and I'll quote from some corroborating sources (the idea is not just in my head) but today I'd like to congratulate myself on reaching prime day number 21599. Saturday is also a prime number day (21601) and so I'm especially happy to be enjoying twin prime days.
The term psychopath has been widely misunderstood and misapplied. There is a tendency to think of the screen character Hannibal Lector as the archetypal psychopath but in fact this character is rather atypical. The great majority are not murderers and never attract the attention of the police. Psychopaths are far more likely to manipulate than to murder. It is their shameless and skilful scheming that helps them rise to the top of whatever profession they enter. Non-psychopathic personalities cannot conceive of such deviousness and are always at a disadvantage.
Psychopaths can never admit that they are wrong and will always find an excuse for their behaviour or someone else to blame if their schemes are uncovered. The percentage of psychopaths in the general population is estimated to be around 5% but their concentration is likely to be far higher in the upper echelons of the military, government, medical profession, legal profession and the CEOs of large corporations. They live amongst us, dominate our institutions and yet they are an alien race that has remained undetected for the larger part of human history. Only in the last one hundred years has their existence been recognised but even today, their numbers and influence are vastly underestimated.
I'll have more to say on this topic of course and I'll quote from some corroborating sources (the idea is not just in my head) but today I'd like to congratulate myself on reaching prime day number 21599. Saturday is also a prime number day (21601) and so I'm especially happy to be enjoying twin prime days.
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